Pramono’s Plans to Tackle Jakarta’s Long-Standing Problems

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has outlined plans to tackle the capital’s long-standing problems, including traffic congestion, waste management and flooding.

Pramono said the waste problem was close to being resolved, following President Prabowo’s issuance of a presidential regulation on waste. Jakarta generates around 9,000 tonnes of waste a day, he said, and is expected to have three waste-to-energy plants.

“Three waste-to-energy plants are planned: at Bantargebang, Tunjungan/Kamal Muara and Sunter. We also have the RDE Rorotan facility, so hopefully by 2028–29 waste will no longer be a problem in Jakarta,” he said at Kearney’s 100 Years of Impact event, themed “Jakarta Towards 500: Shaping the Next Global City Together”, on Thursday (29 October 2026).

On flooding, another long-standing problem, Pramono pledged to continue efforts to reduce the risk and prevent disasters from recurring. He said Jakarta had faced flooding since the era of the Dutch East Indies.

To help prevent floods, the Jakarta administration will continue river normalisation work, including on the river in Kebun Melati, Tanah Abang, which he described as one of the worst-affected areas.

To tackle congestion, Pramono said the administration had focused on improving the transport system to encourage people to switch from private vehicles to public transport. One initiative is Trans Jabodetabek, which connects outlying cities with central Jakarta.

“This has made a significant difference, with a sharp increase in people switching from private vehicles to public transport. The increase could be 15%, and Jakarta’s connectivity now stands at 93%,” he said.

Jakarta is now the world’s largest metropolitan area, ahead of Tokyo and New York, with a population of about 11 million, the article said. It is also ranked the world’s 15th-best city and second in ASEAN, after Singapore.

Pramono added that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani had asked for advice on how Jakarta could improve further and surpass New York, which has a population of 8.3 million.