Submarine cable to connect Sumatra to Java

PT PLN plans to lay a US$12 billion submarine transmission cable connecting Sumatra and Java.

The cable will span 700 kilometers connecting Bangko in South Sumatra and Bogor in West Java. The cable will be used to transmit power supply from South Sumatra, where a number of coal-fired power plants are currently under construction, to meet surging electricity demand in Java.

The cable will be able to transmit power with a total capacity of up to 3,000 megawatts.

According to company construction director Nasri Sebayang, around 85 percent of the required funds will be obtained from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, while the remaining 15 percent will come from PLN’s internal budget. 

He said that PLN is preparing the documents for the tender process so that the cables could be laid beginning in the third quarter of this year.

In Bangko, PLN has planned to construct a coal-fired power plant with a total capacity of 4x 600 MW to supply power to the undersea cable. This project will make the cost of generating electricity more efficient since the company no longer needs to transport coal from South Sumatra to Java.

“We hope that the power plants and the undersea cable can operate on schedule in February 2016. We predict we can begin the construction in 2013,” Nasri said.

The Sumatra–Java undersea cable is the first project using direct current in Indonesia.

Last month, PLN also announced that it would install an undersea cable network connecting three tourist islands — Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno — in North Lombok regency in West Nusa Tenggara. The cable will be connected with a diesel-fueled power plant in North Lombok. The company has set aside US$3.43 million for the project.