Bekasi City Is A Waste Emergency, PSEL Project Needs To Be Continued Again

Waste storage in Bantargebang, Bekasi City (ANTARA)

BEKASI - The Bekasi City Government (Pemkot) was asked to immediately continue the Waste Into Electricity Processing (PSEL) project located in Sumur Batu, Bantargebang, Bekasi City, so that the waste problem in the densely populated city and major economic centers in West Java will be resolved immediately.

The growing Bekasi city is in a waste emergency, just like Jakarta, the volume of waste continues to increase even including the highest in West Java, said Energy Observer from APEI (Indonesian Energy Observer Association) who is also the Executive Director of CESS (Center for Energy Security Studies), Ali Ahmudi Achhyak, Friday 6 September.

Earlier on June 21, 2024, the Bekasi city government announced the cancellation of the winner of the waste processing partner tender which is also the implementation of the Waste Processing Project into Electric Energy (PSEL).

The cancellation was due to the tender process which had been carried out contrary to the Minister of Home Affairs Regulation (Permendagri) Number 22 of 2020 concerning Regional Cooperation Procedures with Regions (KSDD) and Regional Cooperation with Third Parties (KSDPK).

He said, the Regional Cooperation with Third Parties (KSDPK) scheme used by the Bekasi City Government did not pay attention to Permendagri Number 22 of 2020. In Article 32, KSDPK cooperation is a maximum of 5 years and can be extended according to the agreement.

"The cooperation should be carried out using the Government Cooperation with Business Entity (KSBPU) scheme," he explained.

Ali said the Bekasi City government must immediately continue the long-awaited PSEL project without certainty. According to Ali, the cancellation of the tender is one of the efforts of the Bekasi City Government to provide legal certainty and implement correct governance in the waste processing project. But what is more important is to ensure that the Bekasi City PSEL project continues.

"Bekasi City has been in need of this PSEL project for a long time so that the waste problem here can immediately get a solution. The more it is postponed, the more complicated it will be in the future," said Ali.

This doctor from the University of Indonesia who is in charge of waste management for energy (waste to energy) said that in recent years, Bekasi City has become one of the cities with the highest waste production in West Java and even nationally, after Jakarta.

The city needs effective, efficient, environmentally friendly waste management, and has a positive impact on the economy.

Based on SIPN data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, waste in Bekasi City in 2023 and 2022 is the second highest in West Java Province, after Bekasi Regency. The Bekasi City waste month in 2023 is 638 thousand tons, and at 668,000 thousand tons in 2022.

Even in 2021, the highest pile of waste in Bekasi City in West Java is 867 thousand tons, higher than the city of Bandung of 581 thousand tons.

The PSEL project, which is designed to convert waste into electrical energy, has great potential not only to reduce the volume of waste entering the TPA, but also provides renewable energy sources for the people of Bekasi City.

Ali added, with PSEL, we not only address waste problems, but also provide environmentally friendly energy solutions.

"This is one of the sustainability efforts we need to support the achievement of national energy resilience," said Ali.

Previously, in September 2023, the Bekasi city government's auction committee announced a consortium consisting of EEI (Everbright Environment Investment), MHE, HDI, XHE selected as the winner.

The announcement of the PSEL project winner is based on the minutes of the evaluation of PSEL's technical prerequisites in Bekasi City number 42.EV.HPT/PP/PLTSA.LH/2023, on September 19, 2023.

For the record, the determination of the auction committee occurred the day before the Acting Mayor of Bekasi, Tri Adhianto, stepped down from his position. In the auction process, it is suspected that the committee did not determine the correct governance.

Based on the Request for Proposal (RFP) document from Bekasi City, the project auction worth IDR 1.6 trillion stipulates the main requirements for participants to have a relevant business field, namely the Classification of the Indonesian Business Field Baku (KBLI) number 35111 (electric power generation) and 38211 (dangerous waste and waste processing).

In addition, the cost of waste management is rational and competitive. However, these conditions were not consistently applied during the auction process.

The Acting Mayor of Bekasi, Gani Muhamad, said that the cancellation of the winner of the Bekasi City PSEL project tender had gone through a review of the Bekasi City Inspectorate and consultations with a number of state institutions, namely the Government Goods and Services Procurement Policy Institute (LKPP), the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Public Prosecutor's Liation Officer.