The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) hosted an event themed “Green Infrastructure Initiative (GII) Investment Project Pre-Selection Workshop” on 18-19 November 2022 in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Supported by the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the workshop aims to obtain inputs and recommendations from related ministries on project proposals under the Green Infrastructure Development (GID) from partner province East Nusa Tenggara which had been identified and listed in the clean water, wastewater and solid waste sectors.

The workshop was opened by Bapak M. Saleh Nugrahadi, Assistant Deputy for Watershed Management (DAS) and Natural Resources Conservation (KSDA) of Kemenko Marves and remarks from Ibu Johanna Lisapaly, Acting Regional Secretary of NTT.

In his remarks, Bapak Saleh said that clean water and sanitation are among the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Unfortunately, only half of Indonesia’s population enjoy clean water service, partly as a result of excessive exploitation of groundwater, especially in Java. Bapak Saleh added that as a bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Germany, GII is designed to accelerate the green infrastructure development process including improving access to drinking water, sanitation, waste management and urban public transportation.

Meanwhile, Ibu Johanna Lisapaly said that she was confident that GII would encourage the improvement of clean water, wastewater and waste management programs in Kupang, East Sumba (Waingapu) and West Manggarai (Labuan Bajo). The latter is listed as of the five National Super Priority Tourism Destinations by the government. According to Johanna, GII is an innovative way to accelerate and prioritize infrastructure projects that are relevant to the environment and climate change in the NTT region.

Johanna said that the local governments of NTT are happy and ready to work with all related parties. NTT is committed to support the realization of the GII projects in the province, especially in land preparation and the formulation of the Provincial Task Force.

During the discussion of project dossier in the drinking water, wastewater management as well as solid waste management, Bapak Alfonsus Theodorus, Acting Head of Research and Development Division of the Regional Planning Agency of revealed that the main problem in clean water provision in Kupang is limited service-coverage which only reaches 32% of the total population of 412,708 people. Currently, people in Kupang obtain clean water by drilling wells or buying water from water trucks.

Meanwhile, in Labuan Bajo, wastewater management still faces a number of obstacles, including idle capacity of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), low coverage service, and improper distribution pipes. In Waingapu District, East Sumba, the obstacles faced were high percentage of pipe leaks and poor water quality that is contaminated by coliform.

In this workshop, Ibu Anggia Satrini, Head of Sub-Directorate II, Directorate of Sanitation, Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MWPH) emphasized that all project proposals should meet the Readiness Criteria list including strong commitment from the local governments involved. It is also hoped that the GII project will be in line with regional financing capabilities, especially funding for household connection construction.

Through the submission of project dossiers to GII, NTT hopes that Kupang, Labuan Bajo and Waingapu will have improved access to drinking water sourced from surface water as well as proper domestic wastewater treatment facilities.

In this workshop, Mayor of Kupang George M. Hadjoh, West Manggarai Regent Edistasius Endy, and Deputy Regent of East Sumba David Melo Wadu confirmed their commitment to fulfil regional obligations including land availability to ensure their regions’ commitment in GII.

As a follow-up to this workshop, a GII Annual Planning Workshop will be held on 30 November – 2 December 2022, involving all stakeholders involved in GII, including NTT. In addition, a Provincial GII Task Force will soon be formed in NTT and its formulation will be reported at the Third Session of the Steering Committee Meeting in 2023.