The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will promote clean, indigenous energy in Indonesia by assisting in the construction of a 661-kilometer natural gas pipeline through a loan of 75 million U.S. dollars, an ADB report said on Thursday.

The project involves the construction of a pipeline for the transportation of natural gas from major gas fields in South Sumatra to the major gas consuming areas of West Java, said the report.

"This pipeline will promote clean energy, support economic growth in West Java and is also a strong endorsement of Indonesia's sector reforms in the oil and gas sector," said Stephen N. Edwards, finance specialist of ADB's Private Sector Department.

The project is ADB's second non-sovereign guaranteed operation in Indonesia's oil and gas sector. The first one, a loan of 350 million U.S. dollars to help develop the Tangguh Liquefied Natural Gas Project in Irian Jaya Barat province, was signed last August, said the report.

Source: Xinhua