Government Designates 20 Priority Agglomeration Areas for Waste-to-Energy Facilities, to be Funded by Danantara

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA — The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLH) has designated 20 agglomeration areas covering 47 regencies and cities as priority investment zones for developing waste-to-energy electricity facilities (PSEL). Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq stated that this designation aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to prioritise areas generating more than 1,000 tonnes of waste per day. “The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has designated 20 agglomerations across 47 regencies and cities. Of these 20 agglomerations, four have been equipped by Danantara, 16 others are complete, and we will equip the rest subsequently,” Hanif said during a press conference with Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM Rosan Roeslani at the Danantara Building in Jakarta on Tuesday (14/4/2026), quoted from Antara. Hanif explained that these 20 agglomeration areas have met the initial requirements and have received a decree from the KLH. Meanwhile, areas generating 500–1,000 tonnes of waste per day do not yet meet the main criteria under the Presidential Regulation (Perpres), which prioritises PSEL for areas with over 1,000 tonnes per day. Nevertheless, there are seven agglomeration areas across 26 regencies and cities generating 500–1,000 tonnes per day that have been declared technically sufficient by a joint team. “The joint team has confirmed their sufficiency and compliance with requirements for PSEL development, so the Environment Minister has issued a recommendation letter. Why not a decree? Because under Perpres 109, PSEL may only be used for city agglomerations generating 1,000 tonnes or more of waste per day,” he said. Additionally, there are four agglomeration areas across 14 regencies and cities still in the verification stage due to incomplete prerequisites. Overall, the KLH records 31 agglomeration areas across 86 regencies and cities prepared for follow-up PSEL investment. “The Ministry of Environment will continue to oversee the development and on-site management,” he added. On the other hand, Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM Rosan Roeslani stated that the government is open to various technologies to support PSEL development. “We are open to other technologies, but importantly, we prioritise technologies that have been proven to work well in many countries,” Rosan said.