March 26, 2026 | 01:49 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has instructed ministers in his Red and White Cabinet to accelerate waste management programs across Indonesia as part of a broader waste-to-energy initiative overseen by state sovereign wealth fund Danantara.
Prabowo chaired a meeting in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, to discuss the policy. The meeting was attended by Danantara head and Investment Minister Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, along with several cabinet ministers.
In a written statement, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said Rosan briefed the president on the progress of the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) program, which aims to convert waste into energy in cities across the country.
“Mr. Rosan Roeslani reported on the progress of the Waste-to-Energy program, particularly in densely populated and major cities such as Jakarta, Tangerang, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Medan, and Bali, as well as other regions in Indonesia,” Teddy said.
According to Teddy, Prabowo wants the central government to move quickly to address long-standing waste problems in the regions.
“President Prabowo wants the central government to immediately tackle waste that has long gone unmanaged in the regions, so it can be cleaned up, removed, and converted into energy, especially electricity,” he said.
Prabowo has repeatedly pushed for waste-to-energy development as part of his broader infrastructure and environmental agenda. Earlier this year, he said Indonesia planned to launch around 24 waste-to-energy projects in 2026.
He made the remarks during the inauguration of Pertamina’s Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) project in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on January 12, 2026, where he stressed the urgency of improving waste management.
“Right now, we need to clean up the waste in our cities. The garbage has piled up enormously. This is becoming a disaster,” Prabowo said, in remarks broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel.
Prabowo also said Indonesia had failed for more than a decade to develop effective waste management projects.
“We are now going to start 34 projects. The tenders may be opened in the coming days,” he said.
He added that the projects would not become operational immediately.
“It will take two years before they can function,” he said.
Ervana Trikarinaputri contributed to the writing of this article.
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