FDW project: PROPOPI Bandung Indonesia

• Indonesia - PDAM Tirtawening Kota Bandung

Pro-poor Private Investments in Water Supply (PROPOPI)

PDAM Tirtawening currently faces several challenges in maintaining and extending public water supply services to meet the growing water demand in Bandung City. Raw (primarily surface) water sources are increasingly contaminated and there are limitations in intake volumes due to (a) increased competition for water and permits, and (b) increasing groundwater scarcity. The current production infrastructure is in poor condition and can only produce at about 60% of intended capacity, while the distribution infrastructure is deteriorating and performing poorly, demonstrated by high non-revenue water (NRW) levels. These challenges hamper the PDAM’s ability to provide water supply services to society and particularly the poorer and more vulnerable segments of society. Additionally, access to International Financial Institution (IFI) investments is limited. A solution is urgently required to improve both water supply and access to private capital.

To achieve this objective, PROPOPI aims to support PDAM Tirtawening to secure its water production capacity and improve water distribution, as well as customer relations. For all these components, physical investments and technical assistance will be provided by PROPOPI. This requires combining multiple key players’ capacities. Hence, a partnership between the PDAM, the Municipality of Bandung, VEI, TUD and Simavi was established, combining public, private, NGO, and knowledge institute expertise.

PROPOPI intends to realize the following: Improve the enabling environment for accessing (private and IFI) investment capital. This means that all parts of the supply value chain are to generate positive returns on investment. The enabling environment will consist of:

• Social context: sense of ownership amongst poor consumers, sense of priority for improving pro poor access among water utility staff and other stakeholders;
• Operational context: capacity building and technical assistance to optimize water production and to reduce NRW;
• Financial context: water supply components made attractive for (private) investors.

For questions, please contact:
Rik Dierx, former Project Manager Indonesia
rik.dierx@vei.nl