Nippon, PGN to sign pipeline deal
Sources report that Indonesian state-run gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) will sign a $165 million agreement on October 14 with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp for a gas pipeline project. In line with the deal, Nippon Steel will build a 110 km undersea pipeline from Labuhan Maringgai, in Lampung, to Cilegon, in Banten. The project, which is scheduled to start in November 2005, will be completed by February 2007. The contract will be the second contract PGN has signed with a Japanese company this week. On October 11, 2005, PGN signed a contract with Japan's JFE Engineering Corp for a 270 km onshore pipeline from Pagardewa, in South Sumatra, to Labuhan Maringgai, in Lampung. This contract is worth $161.51 million. The project, which will begin in January 2006, will be completed by February 2007.