Published on March 8, 2026, by The Jakarta Post
By Ni Made Tasyarani
The fund has picked Wangneng Environment Co., Ltd. to operate a plant in Bekasi, West Java, while Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection Co., Ltd. will operate a plant in Denpasar, Bali.
State asset fund Danantara has selected two Chinese companies as operating partners for the first phase of its waste-to-energy (WtE) projects.
In a statement on Friday, the fund said that Wangneng Environment Co., Ltd. has been chosen to operate a plant in Bekasi, West Java, while Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection Co., Ltd. will operate a plant in Denpasar, Bali.
The decision followed “a comprehensive and disciplined partner selection process that attracted experienced international companies and involved rigorous evaluation,” it said.
Danantara also noted the selections were pursuant to the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 109/2025 on urban waste management through WtE program and formed part of its broader push aimed to address waste challenges by strengthening municipal waste management, reduce reliance on landfill disposal and support sustainable energy generation.
Under the said Perpres, the agency is authorized to shortlist developers, structure project ownership with local administrations or private firms and oversee all operations, ranging from plant construction to the sale of electricity to state utility PLN.
Danantara required the selected companies to form a consortium with local partners to ensure technology transfer, as well as to enhance collaboration with local administrations.
“Danantara also emphasizes strong upstream governance, including a selection process that is transparent and grounded in risk mitigation,” reads the statement.
Pandu Sjahrir, chief investment officer of Danantara, said that the announcement marked “a significant step in ensuring the WtE facilities are managed with the highest standards of operational reliability, safety and accountability”.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners, local governments and relevant stakeholders to deliver measurable progress in waste reduction and clean energy generation,” he said.
In December, Danantara shortlisted 24 foreign firms from China, Japan and France following a final review, narrowing the field from more than 200 interested bidders.
The initiative ultimately aims to build 33 plants nationwide worth a combined Rp 91 trillion (US$5.38 billion). The WtE projects are included in PLN’s long-term electricity procurement plan (RUPTL) as a form of renewable energy.
Each facility is expected to require between Rp 2.5 trillion and Rp 3 trillion in investment, with Danantara expecting around 30 percent of project funding to come from equity and the remaining 70 percent from debt.
One WtE plant would require around 4 to 5 hectares of land with access to water and transportation routes, according to a draft regulation seen by The Jakarta Post. With a capacity of 1,000 tonnes of waste per day, each facility could generate up to 20 megawatts of power, enough to supply around 20,000 homes.
However, several challenges remained to be anticipated in realizing the projects, with concerns arising from businesses that have previously said financing was still difficult, as local banks are reportedly reluctant to take on the risks associated with large-scale WtE projects, the Post reported last year.
Local administrations also said meeting the strict waste-supply targets would be difficult to sustain over the long term, while environmental experts have warned of a moral hazard, saying that overreliance on WtE projects could discourage efforts to reduce waste at source.