ADB pledges to double loan commitments to Indonesia

Jakarta (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged to double loan commitments to Indonesia this year to facilitate economic recovery in one of its biggest client countries.

ADB Country Director Winfried F. Wicklein said on August 19 that the bank usually commits 1 billion USD to 2 billion USD each year for Indonesia, mostly in infrastructure projects, particularly those related to energy.

However, in the face of COVID-19, ADB is stepping up in support and will more than double it this year, he said during a webinar held by state-owned geothermal energy company PT Geo Dipa Energi and infrastructure financing guarantee agency PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia.

He also called on the Indonesian government to invest in renewable energy as part of the country’s economic recovery plans. ADB is particularly supportive of geothermal power, which the Manila-based lender considers ideal to spur even growth across the archipelago.

ADB, a self-described leading financier of geothermal projects in Indonesia, recently approved 300 million USD to expand geothermal power plants in Dieng of Central Java province and Patuha of West Java province.

ADB adds to a list of organisations, including the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) and Jakarta-based Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), that have explicitly called for the Indonesian government to invest in a green economic recovery.

Indonesia, which holds the world’s largest known geothermal reserves, only harnessed 8.9 percent of its total 23.9 gigawatts of geothermal potential last year, according to official data./.