Chinese companies are playing a leading role in Indonesia's development of waste-to-energy projects, said Fadli Rahman, CEO of PT Daya Energi Bersih Nusantara, a state-owned company that is responsible for running those projects, at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

Since late last year, the Indonesian government introduced two rounds of bidding for a number of waste-to-energy projects. There were 21 submissions in the first round for three projects, all of which were from Chinese companies. The second round attracted 68 proposals for eight projects, with Chinese companies accounting for about 60 percent of the submissions, Fadli said.

"The Chinese companies are very active," Fadli said, adding that many Chinese firms were also working with Indonesian companies to form partnerships tailored to the needs of projects in different regions.

Melda Mardalina, director of waste management at the Ministry of Environment, said waste-to-energy was part of a national strategy that includes waste separation at source, organic waste treatment, improved waste collection and processing facilities, and the use of technologies such as refuse-derived fuel, biogas and composting.

According to the ministry, Indonesia currently generates about 144,000 tonnes of waste a day, but only around 25 percent is properly managed, while the government aims to have all waste managed by 2029 and no longer disposed of into the environment.

Indonesia is accelerating the development of waste-to-electricity facilities in 40 cities facing waste emergencies, with completion targeted in stages in 2027-2028, while projects already under construction include those in Bali, Bekasi city and Legok Nangka in West Java.