Indonesia’s Papua province plans to build a 2,000-megawatt hydropower plant to meet its growing electricity needs and build up infrastructure, the Jakarta Post reported.

Feasibility studies of the proposed plant place the cost at more than 5 trillion rupiah ($525 million), according to the newspaper. The government has yet to announce a timeline for the project but Governor Barnabas Suebu indicated that he intends to start with a 300-MW plant which the state government would help finance.

A 3 trillion rupiah cement factory is also planned to address possible supply problems caused by rising cement prices in the region.

M.S. Hidayat, industry minister, said American mining company Freeport McMoran is one of the investors interested in constructing the cement factory. Mr. Suebu added that construction on the facility is expected to start in 2010.

The hydropower plant is among 18 power plants slated to be built in Papua by state-owned utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara from 2007 to 2012. The projects in the pipeline include a 19.2-MW hydropower plant and a 1.1-MW micro-hydropower plant scheduled to be online next year. The utility said the projects will lessen the province’s dependence on diesel.

-   Oliver M. Bayani