Germany disburses $9.95M for geothermal project in Aceh

German development bank KfW has disbursed US$9.95 million in grants to finance geothermal exploration activities in Aceh.

Indonesia’s Finance Ministry debt management director general Rahmat Waluyanto said Tuesday the activities were part of the government’s target to develop geothermal power plants with a total capacity of 12,000 megawatts across the country.

“Indonesia needs 18.7 million euros to construct a geothermal power plant in the area,” Rahmat said.

He added that the Aceh administration would allocate US$276 thousand for the same project, and that the remaining funds needed were expected to be covered by a company's winning bid on the project.

Rahmat said the project was also part of Indonesia and Germany’s partnership in tackling climate change.