KOICA Invests 22 Billion Won in Green New Deal ODA for Indonesia and East Timor

Solar Energy Distribution Through Trilateral Cooperation System by 2024

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA is launching a Green New Deal ODA project to supply solar energy to electricity-deprived areas in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

On the 10th (local time), KOICA held an online forum to commemorate the launch of the "Korea-Indonesia-Timor-Leste Solar Energy Accessibility Improvement Project" and announced on the 11th that it will establish a triangular cooperation system among Korea, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste to install and support solar energy in Indonesia and Timor-Leste by 2024.

This is the first time KOICA has attempted a multi-year triangular cooperation project supporting two countries simultaneously based on Korea-Indonesia-Timor-Leste triangular cooperation.

Currently, about 10 million Indonesians and 1.2 million Timor-Leste residents have no access to electricity at all. KOICA planned the solar energy accessibility improvement project to provide sustainable energy to residents in these underdeveloped areas and support the two countries' governments' policies to resolve electricity inequality.

KOICA plans to invest $18.5 million (approximately 22 billion KRW) over five years from this year through 2024 to introduce country-specific appropriate technologies and supply solar energy to Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

Specifically, in Indonesia, village independent solar power plants (centralized solar microgrid systems) will be constructed in 23 villages across four provinces, including West Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara. In Timor-Leste, solar water pumps and high-efficiency solar lamps will be provided to residents in 25 villages across four provinces, including Dili and Baucau.

In particular, the high-efficiency solar lamp distribution project supported in Timor-Leste is an excellent case developed and distributed to the underprivileged by Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. This project is evaluated as an innovative field-centered triangular cooperation model because it transfers Indonesia's local technology to the neighboring country Timor-Leste.

After the project ends, KOICA will ensure continuous maintenance of the solar facilities by fostering local solar facility maintenance startups, dispatching experts for infrastructure operation and maintenance training, and providing technical training for local stakeholders.

The online forum was attended by triangular cooperation partners including F.X. Sutijastoto, Director General of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources; Rino Torrezao, Deputy Minister of State Administration of Timor-Leste; Jeong Hoe-jin, KOICA Indonesia Office Director; Kim Sik-hyun, KOICA Timor-Leste Office Director; and representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

During the forum, partners discussed the implementation directions of the Green New Deal and SDG 7 'Energy' for the triangular cooperation project. Jeong Hoe-jin, KOICA Indonesia Office Director, said, "The solar energy accessibility improvement project involving Korea, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste embodies KOICA's future-oriented 'Green New Deal ODA' and 'innovative partnership' symbolism. We will focus on discovering a multi-layered partnership model through trilateral solidarity, cooperation with international organizations, and collaboration on the ground in the two countries in this project."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.