West Java Needs Rp 20 Trillion Investment in Clean Water

West Java Province required Rp 20 trillion in investment to provide clean water in the region until 2035, according to West Java Regional Secretary Setiawan Wangsaatmaja. The province has four Public-Private partnerships (PPP) that may formulate the financing of clean water supply, including providing clean water sourced from the Jatigede Dam in Sumedang Regency for the water demands of Cirebon Raya.

Setiawan said while public access to clean water in the region has been good so far, there is still much to be done to improve water access with a piping system. To achieve this, blended finance will be the main financing mechanism.

Herry Trisaputra Zuna, Director General of Infrastructure Financing for Public Works and Housing, said constructing clean water distribution with a pipeline system requires a lot of money. “We need a financing scheme that is affordable for the community and attractive to the private sector,” he said during a World Water Forum series workshop held at Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Currently, access to clean water with piped systems only covers about 20.6 percent of the community, leaving 80 percent of the population without access. “The Medium-Term Development Plan [RPJMN] aims to increase this coverage to 30 percent in five years, requiring Rp 123.4 trillion in funds. To increase coverage to 80 percent, an investment of over Rp 1,000 trillion is needed,” he said.