Jakarta. Indonesian sovereign fund Danantara has put its waste-to-energy plan into motion, a project that can have a price tag of around $180 million just to turn a thousand tons of garbage into electricity. 

Danantara has begun discussions with the relevant ministries, while also looking for partners, be it from home and abroad. 

PLN -- Indonesia’s state-run utility firm which is now under Danantara’s command -- will purchase the waste-to-energy power.

Danantara’s early estimates showed that they would need between Rp 2 trillion ($120 million) and Rp 3 trillion ($180 million) to convert 1,000 tons of waste into power. The costs also cover what the required investments for the supporting infrastructure.

Work is underway to pinpoint the first city to have the Danantara-backed waste-to-energy facilities.

Danantara’s chief executive officer Rosan Roeslani revealed Tuesday that Jakarta would likely be the first one to have such a project, followed by Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and even the tourist haven of Bali. Bekasi and Tangerang are also on the list. The program targets 33 cities nationwide.

The agency has set its sights on launching the project by the end of next month.

“Processing 1,000 tons of waste a day can generate around 15 megawatts, enough for 20,000 households. … We have set a flat tariff of 20 cents [0.20 dollars] for each kilowatt-hour],” Rosan said in Jakarta.

Danantara is planning to hold a tender to choose its partner -- a process that the fund promised would be “transparent”. 

“We are open to work with private companies, be it domestic or foreign firms, as well as regional government-owned enterprises,” Stefanus Ade Hadiwidjaja, the managing director for investment at Danantara, told a news conference.

He added: "We will choose the right and most optimal technologies and partners. This isn't just about making a profit, but also about addressing the national waste emergency."

According to Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian, Danantara’s takeover of the waste management job will reduce sub-national governments’ financial burden. Under the new scheme, the regional governments will no longer have to pay their local landfills a sum of money for managing the waste, also known as “tipping fees”. However, the minister admitted that he had not calculated how much money could sub-national governments really save.

PLN's boss Darmawan Prasodjo said that it would be important for the waste-to-energy plan to be technically feasible and commercially viable. 

“We do hope that the waste-to-energy project can reach financial closing soon,” Darmawan told the press.

Indonesia reported that its annual waste production totaled 35 million tons, which the government claimed to be enough to fill 16,500 football fields.

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