Aceh Inviting Investors To Develop Its Geothermal Potentials

Banda Aceh ( Berita ) :  The Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) provincial administration is inviting investors to develop geothermal energy in Sabang and Aceh Besar districts to overcome an energy crisis in the province, a local energy affairs official said.

NAD had great geothermal energy potentials but they had yet to be developed and exploited properly, Sofyan Basri, head of the provincial energy and mineral resources office, said here Thursday.

Therefore, he expressed hopethere would be investors who would sink their capital in NAD’senergy sector, in geothermal energy production in particular.  He said geothermal energy sources in Aceh could be developed to produceelectricity.

If investors were able to develop the geothermal potentialswell, they could sell the energy to state electricity company PT PLNand thus help to overcome the power crisis in the province, he said.  “Therefore, we hope there will he investors who can seriouslydevelop the local geothermal energy sources in the near future to meet demand for electricityin the province,” Basri said. ( ant )