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North Kalimantan Governor Irianto Lambrie . (ANTARA/HO-Pemprov Kaltara)

North Kalimantan Governor Irianto Lambrie has said that five investors plan to build Kayan hydropower plants (PLTA Kayan) in North Kalimantan (Kaltara) Province.

"Of the five PLTA investors in Kaltara, I see that PT Kayan Hidro Energi (KHE) is the readiest to build the Kayan hydropower plants," Irianto Lambrie said in Tanjung Selor, on Saturday.

PT KHE still needed to obtain two more licenses, namely a renewal permit to use forest area, and permits for dam construction and safety certificate.

To build PLTA Kayan, PT KHE is in the preparations for the pre-construction process without large scale activities.

"They (PT KHE) have also disbursed around Rp2 trillion in funds for the acceleration of the realization of this project. So, they are really serious," the Governor said.

PLTA Kayan will have five dam construction projects, namely PT Kayan 1, Kayan 2, Kayan3, Kayan 4, and Kayan 5.

PLTA Kayan 1 with a capacity of 900 megawatts, has completed the licensing process covering feasibility study (FS), environmental impact assessment (Amdal), and detailed engineering design (DED).

The Kayan 2 will have a capacity of 1,200 megawatts and the Kayan 3 with a capacity of 1,800 megawatts. Their location permits have been obtained. Their feasibility studies, environmental impact analysis, and DED have been in progress and 50 percent completed.

The Kayan 4 and the Kayan 5 will have a capacity of 1,800 megawatts and 3,300 megawatts respectively.

Of a total of 27 licensing items that have to be obtained, KHE has completed 25 licensing items. The licensing application process has begun since 2011.

The hydropower plants will use water from five rivers existing in North Kalimantan.

In Nunukan District, there are Sembakung River and Sebuku River. In Bulungan, there is Kayan River. In Malinau, there are Mentarang River and Malinau River.

"For Sembakung River in Nunukan, the investor is PT Hanergi Power Indonesia with a plan to build a hydropower plant with a capacity of 250 megawatts. Its environmental impact assessment is in the process," the governor said.

Mentarang River in Malinau will support a hydropower plant with a capacity of 7,600 megawatts or 3,430 megawatts to be built by PT Kalimantan Electricity. its location permit and environmental impact analysis are being processed.

Hyundai Engineering is also interested in investing in a 300-megawatt hydropower plant development in Malinau. (ANTARA)