Gezhouba to build, operate Indonesian hydropower plant

BEIJING - China Gezhouba Group Corp, the parent of the Three Gorges Dam builder, plans to invest $1 billion to build a hydroelectric power plant in Indonesia's Sulawesi Selatan province. The move is part of a strategy to consolidate the company's presence in Indonesia's utility sector.

Gezhouba, a leading Chinese hydroelectric construction company, signed an agreement with PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Indonesia's state electricity monopoly, to build a plant in Karama on Sulawesi Island, according to a source participating in the project , who didn't elaborate on the generating capacity of the plant.

The deal, along with another Gezhouba deal for a coal-fired power plant in West Kalimantan, was signed during Premier Wen Jiabao's state visit in late April, during which Wen pledged $19 billion of investment credit to Indonesia.