Japan, French firms ink 30-year geothermal power deal with Indonesia 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Japan's major trading firm Marubeni Corp. said Tuesday that its joint venture with Indonesian PT.

Supreme Energy and French energy giant GDF Suez S.A. has signed a 30-year contract with Indonesia's state-owned utility PT. PLN. to sell geothermal power.

The venture, called PT. Supreme Energy Rantau Dedap, plans to construct a 220,000-kilowatt geothermal power plant in the South Sumatra Province by 2016, the Tokyo-based firm said in a statement.

The project is estimated to cost about USD 900 million, with Marubeni and GDF Suez each holding stakes of 35 percent in the venture and Supreme Energy taking 30 percent.

The venture expects to procure main equipment of its power plant from Japanese manufacturers and secure financing through project finance with the assistance of international commercial banks and export credit agencies such as the government-affiliated Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

With the world's largest estimated geothermal resources and rapidly growing electricity demand, the Indonesian government is proactively laying groundwork to expand development of geothermal power plants, said Marubeni.

The project is part of the Indonesian government's electricity development program and holds an important place for the future development of geothermal energy in the Southeast Asian nation.