The investment requirement for water infrastructure until 2030 is estimated to reach US$ 1.7 trillion (IDR 26,380 trillion) that the government needs an investment of up to IDR 3,832 trillion per year starting in 2024.
Investment funds for water infrastructure − namely dams, pipelines, sanitation and drinking water supply systems − will also be raised during the upcoming World Water Forum 2024 scheduled in Indonesia’s tourism island of Bali.
Nani Hendiarti, Deputy for Coordination of Environmental and Forestry Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, highlighted the drinking water access infrastructure or the pipeline system. The government’s target is for 30 percent of the public’s drinking water to come from pipelines, whereas currently, it is only around 20 percent.
“To increase the pipeline system to 30 percent, we need around IDR 123 trillion. This means there is an open investment opportunity for water issues domestically,” said Nani on Tuesday.
The scale of investment required in the water sector varies from small scale in rural areas to large scale in urban areas. The government plans to raise these funds through a blended finance scheme. Therefore, the government will hold a meeting with investors at the 10th World Water Forum in Bali this year.
According to Nani, several countries have expressed their interest in investing in Indonesia’s water sector.
“We will create an investor meeting session so that after the 10th World Water Forum is over, we can enhance cooperation with strategic partners in accelerating the development of this water infrastructure,” she said.
As a reference, the government’s budget for 2024 is IDR 3,325.1 trillion. The government has allocated an infrastructure budget of IDR 423.4 trillion this year.
The budget for the Ministry of Public Works and Housing this year is only IDR 146.98 trillion, while for the Directorate General of Water Resources is around IDR 47.64 trillion.
Thus, the budget related to water infrastructure that the government can provide is only 1.24 percent of the annual investment needs in the water sector as mentioned by Nani.
“If we talk about funding needs related to water issues, it is very significant,” she said.
World Water Forum 2024 in Indonesia
The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment plans to invite 32 heads of state to attend the 10th World Water Forum in Bali, scheduled for May 18 to 24, 2024. It is expected to be attended by 30,000 people from 180 countries scheduled to participate in the seven-day event.
Nani Hendiarti, Deputy for Coordination of Environmental and Forestry Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, said that priority countries to be invited to the event are those that have cooperation in the field of water with Indonesia.
“Some heads of state have expressed their commitment to attend to Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment,” said Nani on Tuesday,
Some countries whose leaders are expected to attend are China, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and South Korea. “Confirmation is still in process,” she said.
Nani noted that WWF 2024 will be attended by 190 ministers from 180 countries. In addition, the international event is designed to be attended by 30,000 people from 250 organizations scheduled to participate in 214 sessions.
A total of 214 sessions will be divided into six types: political, high-level panels, regional, thematic, side events, and youth forums. The thematic section has the most sessions, up to 108 sessions in various forms of meetings.
“The participants of WWF 2024 are diverse, such as youth, researchers, professors, entrepreneurs, and ministers,” she said.
