Reliance Power proposes $5 billion Indonesia project

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm Reliance Power is reported to be considering investments of up to $5 billion (about Rs23,480 crore) in Indonesia.

Indonesian media reported today that Reliance Power chief executive Jayarama Prasad Chalasani had a meeting with Indonesia's vice president Boediono in Jakarta to discuss plans to invest in a power project in the southern part of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

The Reliance Power CEO made a presentation to the Indonesian minister along with the company's vice president for business development Mukund Dongre and the Indian ambassador Biren Nanda, reports said.

"The investment is estimated at $5 billion," the report quoted Boediono's spokesman Yopie Hidayat as saying.

Reliance Power is also reported to have quoted a unit price of Rp2.5 cents (2.5 sens) per kWh, against the Rp8 cents paid by the government.

Reliance Power is involved in several projects, including railway and coalmining in South Sumatra. The company holds three coal mining licences in South Sumatra.

"They are learning the possibilities and are very interested in investing in Indonesia," Hidayat said, adding that Reliance has come with detailed figures for electricity.

He said Reliance Power plans to produce 50 million tonnes coal a year within five years from mines in South Sumatra. The company has also plans to set up a 230-km-long railway line that will link its coal operations in Batang Hari, South Sumatra, to a port in Jambi.