Investment Minister Asks Central Malteng Regency Government To Take Advantage Of Geothermal Heat

AMBON - Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Bahlil Lahadalia asked the Central Maluku Regency Government to utilize geothermal energy for economic growth.

"The management of geothermal energy must be realized, because it will boost economic growth in Maluku Province, especially in Central Maluku to be better," said Bahlil Lahadia as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, June 3.

Bahlil said that to realize this, the study process is currently being carried out by the geothermal work team, the Coal and Geothermal Mineral Resources Center (PSDMBP)-Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

"Hopefully this will be able to happen in order to encourage the economy in Maluku, especially Central Maluku," he said during a working visit to Central Maluku Regency.

This was done because of the limited condition of the APBD and APBN.

"It is impossible for an area to develop if there is no investment. The APBD is not too big, only 18 percent of the total regional and national economic growth is from the APBD or APBN, the rest from the private sector in it is Investment," he said.

Based on a survey of the potential for geothermal heat in 2022 by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Maluku Provincial Government's ESDM Office, a large potential for geothermal energy was found in central Maluku, precisely in Banda Baru and Kobisonta.

"The location is in the Central Maluku area, but I don't know where the prominent point is. Later I will go home to check how far the progress has been," he said.

In Indonesia itself, it has started to take advantage of geothermal energy directly or indirect geothermal.

An example of direct use of geothermal energy is heating swimming pools, drying agricultural products, making sugar palm, mushroom cultivation, green house heating and others.