According to reporting from Antara News, the 10th World Water Forum (WWF), which will be held in Bali from May 18 to 24, will create investment opportunities for water infrastructure development, according to an official from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment.
“This opens investment opportunities for (resolving) the water issues in Indonesia,” the ministry’s deputy for environmental and forestry management coordination, Nani Hendiarti, said at an online press conference on Tuesday (9/1/24.)
She explained that to achieve the target of safe, equitable, and affordable access to drinking water for all levels of society by 2030, additional funds of around USD 1.7-trillion are still needed.
“Currently, for the drinking water sector, investment growth, specifically in drinking water pipe access, is only 20.6-percent. Thus, to increase it to 30-percent, around IDR 123-trillion (approx. USD 7.91-billion) is needed,” she said.
According to her, the state budget can only meet around 30-percent to 37-percent of funding needs for water infrastructure development. Therefore, a blended financing scheme is needed to cover this shortfall, including via capital sourced from investment, says Antara News.
Hendiarti said that a business meeting of strategic partners has been scheduled during the 10th WWF. The meeting will discuss cooperation and investment potentials related to water infrastructure development.
“After the WWF, we can strengthen and increase Indonesia’s cooperation with those strategic partners in the context of accelerating water infrastructure development,” she added.
The 10th WWF will have the theme of “Water for Shared Prosperity.” The discussions conducted during the event will cover three processes, namely thematic, political, and regional processes, say Antara News, adding that this will then have six sub-themes: water security and prosperity; water for humans and nature; disaster risk reduction and management; governance, cooperation, and hydro-diplomacy; sustainable water finance; and knowledge and innovation.
The regional process will cover four regions: the Mediterranean, Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Africa.
Meanwhile, the political process will comprise meetings of heads of state, ministers, parliaments, local authorities, and basin authorities.
Antara News says that the 10th WWF is targeted to involve as many as 30,000 participants, including 33-heads of state, 190-ministers from 180-countries, and representatives from 250-organizations that will attend 214-forum sessions.
Source: Antara News
