Dirio needs K15mil bail-out

THE K120 million Dirio gas-fired power project, an independent power producer (IPP) which was supposed to go on line in June, has been delayed as government looks for funds to bail it out.
According to information received by The National, the 45 megawatt power station in Port Moresby needed K15m to pay for its clearance fees for the turbines currently sitting at the wharf.
PNG Power acting chief executive officer Douglas Magea yesterday confirmed that the Dirio power project was not ready.
Questions were sent to Communications and Energy Minister Rainbo Paita and State Enterprise Minister Sasindran Muthuvel on the Dirio power project.
The project was announced last year, when a group of landowners took a trip to San Diego, California, US in November 2018 where they visited the factory that produced the turbines.
Dirio gas and power is owned by the state-owned Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC), which manages landowners’ equity interests in PNG’s mining and petroleum projects.
The project is expected to supply gas-generated electricity to PNG Power and would use 15MW turbines.
A short gas supply pipeline connecting Dirio power plant to the PNG LNG plant will be completed by ExxonMobil.
The gas needed by the plant is less than one percent of the total volume of the PNG-LNG project.
Magea said another IPP, NiuPower was expected to be online by next week as license had been given and they were now waiting for Petroleum department to issue them permit. Niupower was commissioned since April while there was nothing happening at the Dirio project site.