Japanese Power Plant Project in Indonesia Faces Difficulties

Jakarta, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese-led project to build a large-scale coal-fired power plant in central Java, Indonesia, is facing a backlash from local residents unwilling to give up land for the project. Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights wrote to the Indonesian government this month complaining of locals being threatened and coerced by the police, the army and the project company. Some residents were even injured in a clash with police late last month, further hindering the project. The project company, set up jointly by Electric Power Development Co. <9513>, known as J-Power, Itochu Corp. <8001> and a major Indonesian coal company, plans to build a coal-fired power plant with an output capacity of 2 million kilowatts in Batang Regency in the Central Java province. The company won an order for the 4-billion-dollar project from Indonesian state-owned power firm PT. PLN in 2011. The consortium has been stressing the project is packaged infrastructure development abroad promoted by the Japanese government. The project, however, met with strong opposition from local farmers, who feared losing their livelihoods if they sold land for the project. The construction of the plant was supposed to start in 2012 but land acquisition has yet to be completed. Growing tension between locals and the company pushing to obtain the land led to a clash between residents and police officers guarding the company in late July. About a dozen residents were injured. The human rights commission has demanded that the project, even if strategically important for the Indonesian government, should not involve measures that could lead to human rights violations. The company has not commented on the commission's demand. If the company fails to acquire the land by early October, it will lose funding and the project could be derailed. The Japanese government has requested the Indonesian government's support for the project. But the situation remains severe, a Japanese government official said. END