The offer was made during a visit of a Polish delegation, which was a follow up to an agreement between the Indonesian and Polish governments signed during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s visit to the country in 2013.

Ministry secretary Stanislaw Gawlowski said the waste processing technology could produce biomass energy.

'€œThe technology is cheaper and more technologically advanced compared to other similar technologies,'€ said Gawlowski in Palembang on Thursday.

Every investment cost of US$2 million could produce 1 Megawatt (MW) of electricity.

'€œIf the production capacity is bigger, the investment cost can be reduced,'€ Gawlowski said. He said Poland had implemented the technology and only 10 percent of its waste was sent to a dump.

Palembang Deputy Mayor Harnojoyo said Palembang city desperately needed such technology because 100 percent of its waste ended up at the dump.

'€œOur current waste processing system is dated and new technology is needed so that waste can become a product that we benefit from,'€ said Harnojoyo.

Palembang, home to 1.5 million people, produces around 700 tons of waste per day, all of which is dumped at two landfill sites in the city. Without proper management, this could create a serious problem in the future.

Harnojoyo said the administration was considering the offer by the Polish delegation.

'€œThe provincial administration has agreed to cover 50 percent of the financing. We will see. If the cost of investment is reasonable and the funds are available, we will proceed with it,'€ he added. (ebf)

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