PLTA Koto Panjang is located at Merangin village, West Bangkinang, regency of Kampar, it is around 88km from Pekanbaru city. At this PLTA Koto Panjang lake, there is a beautiful view with hills line with various kinds of trees. The area of PLTA Koto Panjang is about 12.900 Ha.Behind the dam of Koto Panjang, the landscape is dominated by the new lake. The level of the lake was originally planned to be at 100 metres above sea level. However, because this would submerge the site of the ancient Muara Takus temple, the level has been reduced to 85 metres.
The Koto Panjang Dam on the Kampar Kanan and Mahat Rivers in West Sumatra, Indonesia, was built with loans from what is now the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The feasibility study for the project was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and carried out by the Tokyo Electric Power Services Co., Ltd (TEPSCO). Japanese and Indonesian companies were awarded the construction contracts for the main part of the dam.
At least 4,886 households, representing between 17,000 and 23,000 people, were relocated in the early 1990s to make way for the dam. Their traditional lifestyle and culture has been destroyed and their living standards have declined considerably. In addition, endangered species such as the Sumatran elephant, Sumatran tiger, Malay bear and monkey could face extinction as a result of damage to their ecosystem.
The local people demanded a halt to construction and Japanese funding from the time that work started on the dam in 1992, but their pleas were ignored and the project was completed in 1996. Nevertheless, the voices of opposition have continued to this day. In September 2002, 3,861 people from the project area filed a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court demanding that the Japanese government, JBIC, JICA, and TEPSCO take measures to restore the affected rivers, and that they pay compensation of 5 million yen (about $42,000) per person.
