2021-04-26 00:00:00 | Indonesian groups file formal complaint against ING for Cirebon II financing

On the day of ING's annual shareholders' meeting, the Indonesian Fair Finance Guide, Responsibank, is filing a formal complaint against ING.  For years, international environmental and human rights organisations, including the Fair Finance Guide, have called on ING to stop financing the Cirebon coal power plant. But ING still provides USD 125 million in financing to Cirebon 2 and is lead arranger for a consortium of banks that collectively has provided USD 592 million to Cirebon 2. Read more here.

2020-03-08 00:00:00 | Cirebon 2 development delayed

In March 2020 the project's sponsor declared force majeure and stated that development would be delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019-11-20 00:00:00 | Possible corruption and bribery in issuing environmental permit

The company building Cirebon 2 – Korean Hyundai Engineering and Construction – stands accused of bribery and corruption. On  15 November 2019, the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced Hyundai’s general manager as a suspect in bribery of the former regent of Cirebon.

According to KPK, the former regent received 6 billion rupiah (approx US$423,000) to give the project the go-ahead.  PT. Cirebon Energi Prasarana (CEPR), the project sponsor, is also implicated in these corruption allegations. KPK has imposed a six-month travel ban on both the CEO and CEPR’s director. If the project licensing is proven illegal, this project could be cancelled.

The original environmental permit for the plant was revoked on 19 April 2017. However the sponsors filed another permit in July, which was issued in September 2017. Bandung Legal Aid challenged that new permit and is having the legality of the verdict in this case reviewed. Loans have been disbursed despite this legal uncertainty.

2017-11-20 00:00:00 | Indonesian environmental groups file notice against government on Cirebon2

2017-08-14 00:00:00 | Decision to revoke the environmental permit for Cirebon 2 seems final

The Head of West Java Provincial Investment and Licensing Agency (BPMPT West Java Province) being the defendant in a courtcase regarding the environmental permit for the Cirebon 2 power plant has revoked the appeal against the decision of the Bandung State Administrative Court. The request means that the government has to accept the first court decision to revoke the environmental permit. Wahyu Widianto, WALHI Advocacy Manager of West Java, expects the defendant to immediately comply with this decision: "This ruling shows the enforcement of one of the worst examples of the 35,000 MW project implementation, as legislation has been breached. With the BHT of this verdict we can see that this project, being contrary to the prevailing spatial plan, and clearly violates the law, has a high legal risk." (source Walhi.or.id).

2017-06-13 00:00:00 | WALHI has formally lodged its feedback to a request made by PT Cirebon Energi Prasarana

The West Java chapter of environmental organization Wahana Lingkungan Indonesia (WALHI) has formally lodged its feedback to a request made by PT Cirebon Energi Prasarana (PT CEPR), the company behind the development of a new 1000 MW power plant in Cirebon, West Java, to have its environmental permit revised. In the submission made yesterday, WALHI West Java argues that the request is a disregard to an ongoing legal process that concerns the environmental permit and therefore must not be granted.

2017-05-29 00:00:00 | Objection against JBIC, complaint at Japanese National Contact Point

On May 24, 2017, two community members affected by the Cirebon coal-fired power plant project came over to Japan and handed over an objection to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), one of the project's main funders. At the same time, Indonesian and Japanese NGOs handed the complaint to the Japanese National Contact Point under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Read a full report and the objections here.

2017-04-20 00:00:00 | Court orders government to revoke Cirebon coal power plant permit

In a landmark judgement, the Bandung administrative court revoked on April 19, 2017 the environmental permit for Cirebon Coal Fired Power Plant, known as “Cirebon 2”. The civil case was filed in December 2016 by The People for Environmental Protection (Rakyat Penyelamat Lingkungan or RAPEL), assisted by the Advocacy Team for Climate Justice. The judgement stipulates that Cirebon 2 has violated the local spatial planning law. Whereas the spatial plan only designated the district of Astanajapura for the power plant development, Cirebon 2 was found to be also covering the district of Mundu, which is assigned as an area for purposes other than the power plant.

According to Indonesian law, an environmental permit is a key requirement in infrastructure projects and is issued by the local government upon the satisfactory completion of the environmental impact assessment or “AMDAL”. Without an environmental permit, a project should not be allowed to continue, however, the Provincial Government has a 14 day window to appeal the judgement. After this period, the court ruling effectively means that ongoing developments of Cirebon 2 must cease.

2017-03-28 00:00:00 | Financial close for Cirebon 2 delayed till April 2017

Financial close for Cirebon 2, the USD2 billion, 1,000MW expansion to the Cirebon coal-fired power plant in West Java, has been delayed to the end of April, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. IJGlobal recently reported that the sponsors would sign the financial documents by end of March 2017, but according to a source, signing has been delayed to mid-April, with certain banks still working on the deal. After the financial documents are signed, which the source said will happen by 15 April, the final close will occur by the end of April. “We saw a short delay on this project, which isn’t bad for Indonesia. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but this time, it will close. I don’t want to get into the details on what happened, but it’s still on track. It will be closed by end of April,” the source told IJGlobal over the phone.

2017-01-11 00:00:00 | Legal challenge to Indonesian coal plant begins

A legal challenge has commenced against a decision by the West Java provincial government to grant an environment permit for the proposed 1000 MW expansion of the Cirebon plant. Lawyers for six individuals argue the proposed plant and associated infrastructure are proposed in an area zoned for fishermen and shrimp farmers which have already been adversely affected by the operation of the existing 660 MW Cirebon plant. (Walhi)

2016-05-19 00:00:00 | Marubeni targets early Q3 for financial closure Cirebon 2

The sponsors of the USD two billion 1,000 megawatt expansion to the Cirebon coal-fired power plant complex in Indonesia are aiming to reach financial close by the beginning of the third-quarter of 2016 (source: www.ijglobal.com).

2016-05-17 00:00:00 | Memorandum of Understanding signed on Cirebon 3 project

Marubeni (Japan), Korea Midland Power, Samtan and PT IMEI have signed a MOU in May 2016 for the construction of a 1,000 megawatt expansion to the Cirebon project. Cirebon 3 will be build adjacent to Cirebon 2 (due to be realised in 2020) in the West Java province of Indonesia.