Once completed, the incinerators would burn garbage and produce electricity amid efforts for the city administration to sort persistent waste issues and decrease reliance on Jakarta’s sole final disposal site in Bantar Gebang, in neighboring satellite city Bekasi, West Java. The plan has long been under scrutiny by environmentalists, who have warned of possible health hazards, including toxic fumes released by the facility.

City-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) and Finnish energy company Fortum formed joint venture PT Jakarta Solusi Lestari (JSL) to carry out the construction and operation of the WTE incinerator called the intermediate treatment facility (ITF) in Sunter.

The facility will be handed over to the Jakarta administration after 25 years.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan officiated the start of construction in a groundbreaking ceremony in December 2018. However, sluggish progress ensued as after more than a year, construction had not yet started as the city administration was still dealing with paperwork to make way for the project.

Fortum's vice president of corporate communications, Izabela van den Bossche, brushed off the concerns, explaining that the residue from the incinerator would be properly handled in cooperation with third parties.

The plant in Sunter will reportedly use high-end thermal treatment technology called grate fired incineration, which more than 1,000 plants have used worldwide, she said.

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