Strengthening Local Government Capacity on Access to Climate Finance for Waste Management and Urban Public Transport Infrastructure
To support the National Government's priority programme on Integrated Waste Management Reform from Upstream to Downstream and Low Carbon Development under Indonesia's National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2025–2029, the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, in collaboration with GIZ Indonesia & ASEAN under the Urban-Act and SFF-CE Technical Support Hub projects, organised a training on Access to Finance for Local Governments in Jakarta from 5 to 7 May 2026. The training aimed to strengthen the capacity of local governments in accessing non-state budget financing mechanisms and to advance the preparation of bankable waste management and urban transport projects. The training brought together representatives from six local governments, including Padang, Medan, Jambi, Cirebon, Bandung, and Banyumas.
The training was opened by the Director of Environment of Bappenas, Nizhar Marizi, who underscored the pressing need for innovative financing schemes accompanied by stronger planning frameworks, institutional capacity, and long-term operational sustainability commitments. The Director highlighted a critical structural challenge in which local government capacities remain limited and heavily reliant on central government transfer funds, while local expenditure structures continue to be dominated by routine operational spending. This condition limits fiscal space for infrastructure development and investment.
Over three days, participants worked through seven thematic sessions that took them on a practical journey, starting with the NDBs Urban Climate Action (NUCA) overview of urban challenges and financing realities, moving through city self-diagnostics, regulatory reviews and peer learning. The session was followed by direct insights from KfW, a German Development Bank, and PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (PT SMI) on how to make the project bankable.
The programme wrapped up with a role-play simulation on financing decision-making and a hands-on project preparation exercise, which brings a first-hand view of the constraints, trade-offs, and risk considerations faced by each stakeholder beyond the local government perspective in the financing process. This immersive approach helped cities better understand how to align priorities, anticipate concerns from financiers, and act more strategically for a better process on access to finance and maximise the overall effectiveness of project development. Throughout the training, participants brought their own cities' challenges and best practices to the discussion, pitching real local issues and proposed projects, with waste management becoming the most dominant sector.
As a concrete follow-up, participants will receive dedicated online coaching from PT SMI to further develop the mini project preparations initiated during the training. This coaching aims to bring participants' project concepts closer to a bankable standard, supporting local governments in making a meaningful transition from public budget dependency toward diversified and sustainable infrastructure financing.
