Jakarta. The Indonesian sovereign fund Danantara has opened the second tender for the waste-to-energy projects after Chinese firms secured a landslide victory in the first round.

High up on Danantara’s 2026 to-do list is to speed up the nationwide rollout of waste-to-energy incinerators across 33 cities. Indonesia will run the program in phases, with the now-completed first round of tender focusing on the trash-infested Bekasi, Denpasar Raya, Bogor Raya, and Yogyakarta — a process mainly dominated by Chinese investors. Danantara promised that the new tender would be open to both national and foreign firms as long as they possess the capacity to develop such technologies. Potential candidates will get shortlisted before Danantara arrives at a decision.

Fadli Rahman, a director at Danantara’s investment arm, said that the fund sought to expand funding from various countries, hence the decision to hold another tender.

“We want to expand the participation of domestic and global companies in the development of a modern waste management infrastructure in Indonesia,” Rahman said on Friday.

“[This program] has previously amassed international interests.” 

As of writing, Danantara has announced the winners for the Bekasi, Denpasar, and Bogor Raya projects. The fund has picked the partners out of a 24-strong shortlist in which over half of the candidates are Chinese companies. 

Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection clinched deals to operate the Denpasar and Bogor plants. Wangneng Environment, which primarily engages in waste disposal, also earned Danantara’s approval to manage the Bekasi project. They are are expected to form a consortium with local firms to enable technology transfer. Their local partners are yet to be announced.

“The selected partners will be expected to deliver consistent operational performance, maintain compliance with all applicable requirements, and support sustained engagement with surrounding communities,” Danantara Chief Investment Officer Pandu Sjahrir said, commenting on the winners.

According to Danantara’s timeline, Indonesia will break ground on the first batch of waste-to-energy facilities this third quarter. Construction is set to finish in the fourth quarter of 2027. Setting up waste-to-energy plants across the 33 targeted cities has a price tag of around Rp 84 trillion or approximately $5 billion.

Chinese dominance in Indonesia’s waste-to-energy program comes as no surprise. China almost never drops out of Indonesia’s top 3 foreign investors list. In 2025, Hong Kong investors put around $10.6 billion in Indonesia, placing second place after Singapore ($17.4 billion). Investments from mainland China totaled $7.5 billion that year.