World Bank supports Indonesia

The World Bank has approved loans totalling US$ 890 million to support infrastructure projects in Indonesia. A US$ 640 million loan will be used to construct a pumped storage hydropower plant to meet the country's growing electricity demand, while a separate US$ 250 million loan will be put towards the development of roads along the country's Western Sumatra corridor.

Located near Bandung in west Java, the Upper Cisokan Pumped Storage Hydropower project will be the first facility of its kind in Indonesia. Pumped storage plants generate energy by transferring water from two reservoirs built at different heights - energy is generated by releasing water from the high reservoir to the low reservoir to drive turbines. The water is pumped back to the higher reservoir at off-peak times.

World Bank senior energy specialist Leiping Wang said, "Pumped storage is the only form of technology that allows you to efficiently store large amounts of energy and quickly respond to peak electrical demand. The Upper Cisokan project will make Indonesia one of very few developing countries to have such a power plant."

The World Bank is working together with Indonesia's state-owned electricity company PLN to construct the plant, which is expected to cost a total of US$ 800 million and provide over 1000 MW of electricity.

Meanwhile, the World Bank is also supporting the Western Indonesia National Roads Improvement Project with a US$ 250 million loan. The project, which is managed by the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works, aims to improve approximately 716 km of national roads along the Western Sumatra corridor by laying new asphalt wearing courses, improving drainage, replacing 194 m of bridges and widening the roads where necessary.