FOUNDATION STONE LAID FOR ENERGY RESOURCE AND TRAINING CENTRE in Indonesia

Second Hydro-Power Generator Inaugurated in Subang District, West Java

(Reissued as received.)

BANGKOK, 5 April (UN Information Service) -- The foundation stone for the first Pro-Poor Public Private Partnership (5P) Resource and Training Centre was laid today in Cinta Mekar, Subang District, West Java, by UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su and the Indonesian State Minister of Cooperative and Small and Medium Enterprises, H.E. Suryadharma Ali.  Earlier in the day Mr. Kim switched on a second generator at the UNESCAP-sponsored hydro-power plant in Cinta Mekar.

The Cinta Mekar Micro Hydro-Power Plant, initiated in 2003 to promote rural electrification in a sustainable way, is the brainchild of the Bangkok-based United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).  It brings together partnerships among the private sector, national and local governments, and the local community.

Mr. Kim noted that the training facility was the first of its kind for 5P in the world.  “The model developed and tested in Cinta Mekar has already positioned itself as one of the success cases for further replication in Indonesia and elsewhere in the region”, he said.  “Now it is time to share this model widely in Indonesia and other countries of the Asian and Pacific region.”

Co-financed by a private company, Hidropiranti Inti Bakti Swadaya (HIBS), and a local rural cooperative, Cinta Mekar, with support from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the plant generates electricity that is sold at a profitable price to the State-run National Electricity Corporation (PLN).  Each month the power plant generates about 54,000 kWh of electricity, with a gross monthly income of approximately 31 million Indonesian rupiahs (US$3,300).  The revenues are shared equally between the community and the private sector.

“This project promotes the use of micro hydro-power, a clean and renewable source of electricity, that is friendly to the environment”, Mr. Kim told the gathering.  “The importance of making the process of electricity generation eco-friendly cannot be overemphasized and is the only way to ensure the long-term sustainability of all energy-related projects.”

A part of UNESCAP’s Pro-Poor Public Private Partnership (5P) for poverty reduction, the project is a follow-up of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002.  It was made possible by the generous financial support of the Royal Government of the Netherlands.

For further information, please contact:  UN Information Centre, Jakarta, tel.:  +(62-21) 3983-1011/1013, fax:  +(62-21) 3983-1014, e-mail:  unicjak@cbn.net.id; or United Nations Information Services Bangkok, tel.:  +(66-2) 288-1861-66, fax:  +(66-2) 288-1052, e-mail:  unisbkk.unescap@un.org.

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