Taiwater to build water purification plant in Indonesia

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) Taiwan Water Corp. (Taiwater) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Jan. 10 to build a water purification plant in Indonesia based on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, the state-owned company said Saturday.

Taiwater Chairman Kuo Chun-ming (郭俊銘), who is representing Taiwater and six private water treatment companies in Taiwan, is scheduled to travel to Indonesia on Sunday in preparation for the signing of the MOU, Taiwater said.

The water purification facility, to be located in Malang, East Java, will cost between NT$400 million (US$13 million) and NT$500 million, Kuo said.

When completed, it will supply a local industrial area with some 35,000 tons of water each day, according to Taiwater.

Taiwater added that a final decision has not been made on whether a government agency or a local water company will sign the MOU on behalf of Indonesia.

Taiwater spokesperson Wu Ching-wen (武經文) said although the size of the investment is relatively small, it will allow Taiwan's water companies to gain visibility in the southeast Asian country and help expand their reach in the local market in the future.

Taiwater said it had signed another MOU with three Indonesian water companies in August 2018 to improve the water quality in East Java and build pilot water purification facilities.

According to a Taiwater assessment report published in May 2018, a lack of tap water is plaguing the province due to insufficient water treatment infrastructure and high water prices, and the problematic water testing in East Java cannot guarantee that the widespread consumption of spring water is safe.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's state oil refiner CPC Corp. said a feasibility assessment report will likely be published in the first half of 2019, after signing an MOU with PT Pertamina -- a state-run Indonesian oil and gas company -- in October 2018 to build a naphtha cracking plant.

CPC spokesman J.Z. Fang (方振仁) said the company will also open an office in India to collect information about the tax policy and investment environment in that country.

Taiwan Sugar Corp., meanwhile, also looks forward to investing in Indonesia with its sugarcane cultivation and sugar production technology, but the progress is currently stalled by a lack of proper land to build related facilities, according to its vice president Hung Huo-wen (洪火文).