Governor Koster Confirms Groundbreaking for Waste-to-Energy Project on 8 July
Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) - Bali Governor Wayan Koster has confirmed that the groundbreaking for the waste-to-energy electricity (PSEL) project will take place on 8 July 2026.
“(Previously) the plan was for groundbreaking on 30 June, but I requested an auspicious day, and it was set for 8 July, so the stone-laying for the start of construction will be on 8 July 2026,” Koster said in Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday (22/4/2026).
The Governor conveyed this in front of hundreds of students who were protesting over the waste issue in Bali following the closure of the Suwung landfill.
Koster then explained that in addition to intensified waste handling from source management, TPS3R, and TPST, the PSEL is also being prepared.
“By the grace of God, yesterday the PKS was signed between the Bali Governor, the Mayor of Denpasar, the Regent of Badung, and Danantara to implement this programme,” he stated.
The Bali Provincial Government has ensured that a six-hectare plot of land is available in the Pelindo area, Benoa, and is currently processing the environmental impact assessment permit before the groundbreaking.
“This is already a decision with Danantara; the construction period is 1 year and 3 months, so 15 months,” he said.
In more detail, he explained that if construction starts in July 2026, the project will be completed by early November 2027, and with an additional month for finalisation, the PSEL can be operational under BUPP managed by Danantara in December 2027.
To the hundreds of students, Koster conveyed that waste handling requires considerable time, so while awaiting the arrival of PSEL, the government, particularly in Denpasar and Badung, continues to prepare machines at TPST.
The TPST will cease operations once PSEL is operational, as it will require 1,200 tonnes of waste daily, comprising 700 tonnes from Denpasar and 500 tonnes from Badung.
This demonstrates the local government’s seriousness in budgeting for waste handling in the interim while awaiting the technology to process waste into electricity.
“You can imagine, how many hundreds of billions we have spent on purchasing equipment for TPS3R and TPST to process waste before this PSEL is completed; once PSEL is finished, this equipment will no longer function because all waste must be processed through PSEL,” he said.
Therefore, while awaiting the completion of this technology, the Bali Provincial Government invites students to participate in waste reduction efforts through sorting or source resolution.
In response to the governor’s explanation, the Chairman of the BEM PM at Udayana University, I Gusti Agung Ngurah Oka Paramahamsa, stated that students are ready to help resolve the waste issue at the source, such as sorting waste on campus.
However, the students demand that the government take waste management seriously until the new technology operates, through open audits of the handling processes that have already been carried out.