Pangkalan Susu To Operate US$400 M Power Plant

Langkat, N Sumatra, June 11 (Antara) - Construction of a Rp4 trillion (US$400 million) coal-fired power plant in Pangkalan Susu in Langkat District, North Sumatra Province, is nearing completion. The power plant with a capacity of 2x200 megawatts will start operation in December this year, an official of the state electric utility PLN said. "Construction of the first of two units of PLTU Pangkalan Susu has been 90 percent completed," Sahrul, a staff of the power security and environment department of PLN said Pangkalan Susu on Tuesday. The power plant is expected to be able to cope with shortage in power supply in the province, Sahrul said. North Sumatra has suffered inconvenience of frequent blackout by turn on shortage in power supply. The boiler, turbine, the chimney , the quay and a number of other supporting facilities have come on line, he added. The project is built over a 105 hectare plot of land. Sahrul said the power plant will need 500 skilled workers , adding recruitment has been made but they have yet to undergo training. He said he hopes many local people could be accepted for training to be ready to operate the power plant . Meanwhile, the head of the regional office of the manpower service, Syaiful Abdi, said the power plant is expected to help cope with unemployment problem in Pangkalan Susus. A regional regulation rules that local people make up 75 percent of the companies in Langkat.