Indonesia strengthens South Korean connection

27 July 2007

A preliminary deal has been signed that could see Korean nuclear technology employed in Indonesia.

Indonesian plans envisage a four-reactor nuclear power plant on the north coast of the country's main island, Java. For the first time, South Korean-designed OPR-1000 reactors have been linked to it by press reports.

According to the reports, Waryono Karno, the secretary general of the Ministry of Energy and Resources said that Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) had made a deal with Indonesia's PT Medco Energi International. Two of Indonesia's four potential reactors are covered by the deal, which specifies a nuclear power plant on the Muria Peninsula with a generating capacity of 2000 MWe

Construction is said to be set to begin in 2010 with operation following from 2016. By 2025 Indonesian officials expect to have two more reactors in operation, with a total of four providing about 4% of the country's electricity.

The development comes after political delegations in December 2006 signed agreements to cooperate in nuclear power. At that time, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyum said that South Korea has the skills to offer help to Indonesia in developing nuclear power, that the two countries had "vast potential for cooperation" and that he hoped they could use the "opportunity to cooperate in the field of nuclear energy."

Further information

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power

WNA's Nuclear Power in Korea information paper
WNA's Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries information paper

WNN: Indonesia makes nuclear friends
WNN: ASEAN summit declares support for nuclear

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