Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called for a review of the country’s ambitious program to develop 35 gigawatts of new power stations by 2019, the energy minister said on Friday.
“He emphasised that there should be a thorough review while the deadline is still a long way off, so that we don’t encounter obstacles when we’re already halfway,” Minister Sudirman Said told reporters.
Said was referring to reviews of aspects ranging from the tender process to financing and management by state electricity utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).
“Investors and businesspeople have started to question if we can finish this or not,” Said added.
The program aims to build nearly 300 power plants, most of them coal-fired, in a bid to overcome Indonesia’s endemic shortages of electricity and fuel growth.