The delay has been attributed to the fact that Indonesia has only managed to secure a contract for 1.2 million tonnes of LNG to be shipped to South Korea, which is around half of the proposed plant's capacity.
Pertamina official, Inoenoe, confirmed that the construction had been delayed but added that "the [Indonesian] government expects to secure more contracts in the coming months to pave the way for the construction of the new plant." It is believed that Inoenoe was alluding to the signed preliminary agreement signed between Indonesia, Mexico and the US to buy Indonesian LNG.
Should all go according to plan, the plant will probably be constructed by a consortium led by Japan's Chiyoda Co Ltd with financing provided by Japan's Mitsubishi Corp.
