INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Secretary of the National Council of SEZ Enoh Suharto Pranoto said potential investors for Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Sorong, West Papua, need electricity and water to support the procurement of smelters.

"They need certainty of electricity quantity, electricity price and availability of water with sufficient volume for smelters," said Enoh after attending the coordination meeting of Sorong SEZ management in Jakarta on Wednesday (21/3/2018)

Enoh said the Sorong SEZ with an area of ​​198 hectares already has the readiness of infrastructure in the form of roads and offices, although not yet have supporting facilities such as electricity and water for the development of the area.

Whereas the Provincial Government of West Papua and the District of Sorong and the Ministry of Trade and BKPM are ready to delegate authority to the SEK KEK Administrator in order to support the operational activities in the near future.

There are currently large investors who intend to invest in Sorong SEZ PT Gag Nikel which is a subsidiary of PT Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk.

According to the plan, the company is ready to build a ferronickel smelter and stainless steel with an investment value ranging between Rp5 trillion-Rp10 trillion and a production capacity of 40,000 tons of nickel per year.

President Director of PT Gag Nickel Risono targets the construction of a ferronickel and stainless steel processing plant in Sorong SEZ to be done soonest in 2019.

However, he admitted, the availability of electricity is still a problem because the construction of a smelter requires 300 MW of electricity. While the newly available electricity about 10 percent is 30 MW.

"PLN said it could meet the electricity needs for smelter, only the price is not suitable, PLN wants Rp 900 per KWH, we ask for the price of electricity below so that our products can compete in the market," said Risono as quoted by Antara.

Another problem is the need for water for smelters as much as 700 liters per second, whereas the reservoir of the Warsamson River aims only to meet the needs of the people of Sorong with a maximum capacity of up to 600 liters per second.

"We need to build a new dam specifically for the smelter needs," he said.

On the occasion, Sorong Vice Regent, Suka Harjono asked potential investors not to worry about the availability of electricity because PLN is ready to meet the electricity needs.

According to him, it is not difficult for PLN to provide electricity in Sorong SEZ because this area has abundant gas resources.

"The problem of water supply is also not to worry about, the Ministry of PUPR is ready to build the infrastructure, and if it is not enough, Sorong regency will help," said Harjono.