Indonesia invites China to invest in its water infrastructure projects
Antara News reported on 11 September 2023 that Indonesia has invited China to invest in water infrastructure projects in Indonesia and in the development of the new national capital (IKN) Nusantara. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the 18th World Water Congress held in Beijing in September 2023.
Indonesia’s Minister for technology, industry, and environment, Endra Saleh Atmawidjaja, said that Indonesia wanted to encourage further infrastructure cooperation with China.
The Chinese government provided a grant of US$3.6 million for the Pelosika Dam project in Southeast Sulawesi, construction on which began in 2020.
Infrastructure cooperation between Indonesia and China began in 2002, starting with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between China and Indonesia. The Indonesian Government is also collaborating with the Chinese government on the construction of three more dams, namely Jenelata Dam in South Sulawesi, Riam Kiwa Dam in South Kalimantan, and Lambakan Dam in East Kalimantan, the Minister said.
According to the Global Times, in June 2022 the State-owned China CAMC Engineering Co signed a $290 million construction contract with Indonesia to build the country’s Jenelata dam. The dam will be 1,525 meters long and 63.8 meters high, in addition to subsidiary facilities. The volume of the reservoir after the dam is completed is expected to reach 285 million cubic meters and can be used to irrigate 24,400 hectares of soil.
Jenelata dam was the first program linking to people’s living standards under a recent government level bilateral cooperation agreement between China and Indonesia, and will be an important project as part of China’s Belt & Road Initiative and Indonesia’s Global Maritime Axis.
Sources:
- Antara, 11 Sept 2023. https://en.antaranews.com/news/293427/indonesia-invites-china-to-invest-in-water-infrastructure-projects
- Global Times, 30 June 2022. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202206/1269407.shtml