At the start of 2026, a bombshell was dropped in Indonesia's environmental protection market. With the official announcement of Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Danantara, two Chinese environmental protection giants, Wangneng Environment and Weiming Environmental Protection, successfully planted their flags on two difficult sites: Bekasi near Jakarta and Bali. This is not only a major breakthrough for Chinese enterprises going global but also a turning point for Indonesia's waste-to-energy industry from stumbling to sprinting. Today, Manager Wang has compiled a report on Indonesia's waste-to-energy industry to help you understand the wealth logic behind it.

First, the "triple jump" of top-level planning: ambition from 12 cities to 34 cities

Looking back at the planning process of Indonesia's waste-to-energy sector, you will find that this is a long-planned infrastructure "great leap forward." As early as 2018, Indonesia passed Presidential Decree No. 35, stipulating 12 priority pilot cities, but progress was slow due to funding and approval hurdles. Entering 2025, the Indonesian government unveiled its "killer move" — Presidential Decree No. 109. This new policy expanded the pilot scope from the original 12 cities sharply to 34 core cities in provincial-level administrative regions. The government's goal is very clear: to handle approximately 64 million tons of municipal solid waste generated annually nationwide. The current treatment rate is on the eve of an explosion, rapidly climbing from 10% at the beginning of 2025 to 25% in January 2026, and the Indonesian government has set a "hard order": by the end of 2026, this number must cross the 63% threshold. This disconnected growth in demand is the greatest certainty for investors.

Second, the transformation of the funding pool: a feast of 600 trillion Indonesian rupiah

Previously, investors were most worried about local governments in Indonesia not having enough money to pay processing fees, but this chronic problem is now being strongly cured by the sovereign fund Danantara. According to the latest calculations by Indonesia's National Development Planning Agency, to achieve waste-to-energy coverage in all 34 cities, the total investment gap is as high as 600 trillion Indonesian rupiah (approximately USD 38 billion). To leverage this huge amount, the government has provided a highly attractive financial model. First, the maximum subsidy standard for waste treatment fees has been raised to 500,000 Indonesian rupiah per ton (equivalent to USD 32), making the project's operating cash flow extremely stable; second, electricity tariff guarantees — the state electricity company PLN is required to purchase at a fixed and preferential feed-in tariff. This business closure, backed by national credit guarantees, sovereign fund injections, and mandatory grid purchases, has completely solved the pain point of poor bankability for waste-to-energy projects.

Third, the leading position of Chinese solutions: why Wangneng and Weiming?

The Bekasi project won by Wangneng Environment and the Bali project won by Weiming Environmental Protection this time can be regarded as "showrooms" for Indonesia's waste-to-energy sector. Take Bekasi as an example: it is close to Jakarta, generating over 2,500 tons of waste daily, with immense treatment pressure. Chinese companies won out thanks to a double-kill solution of high cost-effectiveness + technology transfer. Indonesian officials have explicitly stated that choosing Chinese companies is not only because China has the world's largest installed capacity of waste incineration but also because Chinese companies are willing to cooperate with localized operations. Currently, the average installed capacity of individual projects in Indonesia is between 15 MW and 20 MW, with an investment intensity of about USD 150 million to USD 250 million. Through consortium models, Chinese companies have successfully shortened the construction period by 20%, which is an irresistible attraction for the Indonesian government eager to close large open landfills like Suwung.

In summary:

Indonesia's waste-to-energy industry has completed an astonishing leap from policy vision to actual construction. Indonesia is now in the same explosive period of environmental infrastructure as China was a decade ago: policy dividends released, sovereign fund endorsement, technical thresholds established, and huge rigid demand gaps. For investors, the focus should no longer be on "whether to invest," but on how to cut into this USD 35 billion giant cake through leading companies like Wangneng and Weiming that have already obtained tickets to enter.