Construction of the First Kayan Cascade Hydroelectric Dam is Targeted to Start Next Year

KHE Khaeroni Operations Director (photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

BULUNGAN - PT Kayan Hydro Energi (KHE) is targeting construction of the first dam for the Kayan Cascade Hydroelectric Power Plant (PLTA) to begin next year.

KHE Operations Director Khaerony explained that the hydroelectric power plant, which will have a total capacity of 9,000 megawatts (MW), has entered the diversion channel construction stage.

Roni, Khaerony's nickname, explained that this diversion work had been carried out about 3-4 months ago. He explained that the river diversion work was carried out through a blasting process at the project location. It is targeted that the work can be completed in 6-8 months.

"Now we are concentrating on the diversion channel so that at least next year it will be finished and we can divert the river to carry out construction of the Kayan dam," he said at the Kayan Cascade hydropower construction arena, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan Province, Monday, December 11.

Furthermore, Roni explained that based on checks by the Directorate General of Water Resources of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) as of August 2022, progress on the construction of Kayan Hydroelectric Dam 1 had reached 27 percent.

“Certainly now there are quite drastic changes. We use a supervisory consultant here, Indra Karya. "That means that the person supervising it will be Indra Karya who can make a report to us," he explained.

For your information, the Kayan Cascade hydroelectric power plant will utilize the area along the Kayan River water flow, in Peso District, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan. In the future, there will be five dams, with 5-6 generating turbine units in each dam.

The investment value of this project reaches 17.8 billion US dollars. For the construction of this project, PT KHE partnered with an energy company from Japan, Sumitomo Corporation.

The electricity generated by this hydropower project will supply green industrial areas in North Kalimantan and the Archipelago Capital (IKN) in East Kalimantan. This includes supplying electricity needs on Kalimantan Island, including the green industrial area developed by PT Indonesia Strategis Industri (ISI).