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..Press
Release................................
UNESCAP News Services
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Date 4
April 2005
Press Release No: G/06/2005
FOUNDATION STONE LAID FOR ENERGY RESOURCE AND
TRAINING CENTRE
Second hydro-power generator inaugurated in Subang District,
West Java
United Nations Information Services Bangkok (4
April 2005) -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 Mr. Kim Hak-Su and the Indonesian State
Minister of Cooperative And Small and Medium Enterprises, H.E.
Mr. 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 UN 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
Indonesian Rupiah 31 million (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
UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66
Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
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