Seven cities named as pilot projects for waste-to-electricity program

The government has appointed seven cities as location for pilot projects to turn municipal waste into electricity, a program championed by President Joko Widodo to help both resolve the alarming garbage problem in major cities in the country and increase power supply.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said in a statement, issued Friday following a limited cabinet meeting on the waste-to-electricity program, the seven cities are Jakarta, Bandung, Tangerang, Semarang, Surabaya, Solo, and Makassar.

The statement said that the cities have waste production of about 1,000 tons per day, except for Solo which only has waste production about 200-250 tons per day. Solo can be an example of mid-sized city, Pramono said.

He said that a presidential regulation will be issued, under which state-owned electricity firm PT PLN will be obliged to buy the electricity produced by waste-based power plants.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution said the government will streamline permitting process for the development of waste-based power plants.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak