Jakarta water privatisation
From 1998 to 2023 Jakarta's piped-water network was run by two private concessionaires. Indonesia's Supreme Court found the arrangement unlawful in 2017; records differ on what that ruling changed.
Reported coverage under two private concessions that ran from 1998 to 2023.
Status As of January 2026: private concessions ended in 2023; PAM Jaya aims for full coverage by 2029; records differ on the legal effect of the 2017 Supreme Court ruling.
- Palyja and Aetra (private concessionaires) — Held the network contracts for 25 years and kept them to the end. The Jakarta Post
- Suez and Thames, with their Indonesian partners (the Salim Group, and a son of President Suharto) — Partnership in the concession, awarded without a tender, according to ICIJ. ICIJ
- Households, hotels and businesses outside the piped network — Used wells or bought water; one family reported paying 20,000 rupiah a day for eight jerry cans. Swissinfo (D. Burkhalter)
- Land and groundwater in North Jakarta — Ground sank about 11 cm a year on average in 2014–2018. MDPI Water
What happened
Jakarta's piped-water network was operated from 1998 to 2023 by two private concessionaires, Palyja and Aetra, under contracts with the city's water utility, PAM Jaya. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), President Suharto awarded the city's water without a tender. ICIJ documented that Thames formed a partnership with one of Suharto's sons and that Suez formed one with the Salim Group.
The Jakarta Post reported that piped water reached 44.5% of the population in 1998. A secondary summary gives 59.4% for 2019, and states that the two concessionaires kept their contracts to the end while coverage stayed at about 60%. Households, hotels and businesses outside the network turned to wells.
In 2017 Indonesia's Supreme Court found the arrangement unlawful. One research note says the ruling was set aside in 2018 on procedural grounds. Another record says that PAM Jaya, fearing compensation of 6.7 trillion rupiah if it ended the contracts, restructured them instead. The record does not say whether the contracts changed as a result of the ruling.
Bisnis.com reported on 27 January 2023 that the cooperation with the private operators had ended and that PAM Jaya was ready to operate the service fully. In January 2026 Swissinfo reported that PAM Jaya aimed for full coverage by 2029, which would need about 7,000 km of pipe and one million household connections, and that experts said bans on well-drilling could not be enforced without a network.
- 1998Piped network held by two private concessionaires (to 2023); coverage 44.5% of the population
- 2017Supreme Court finds the water partnership unlawful
- 2018One record says the ruling was set aside on procedural grounds; PAM Jaya, fearing 6.7 trillion rupiah in compensation, restructured the contracts (Jakarta Post explainer, April)
- 2019Reported coverage 59.4%
- 2023Private cooperation ends; PAM Jaya takes over operation (Bisnis.com, 27 January)
- 2026PAM Jaya aims for full coverage by 2029, needing about 7,000 km of pipe and one million connections (Swissinfo, 27 January)
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
The ruling was set aside in 2018 on procedural grounds.
The Jakarta PostPAM Jaya, fearing 6.7 trillion rupiah in compensation if it ended the contracts, restructured them.
The Jakarta PostCoverage rose from 44.5% (1998) to 59.4% (2019) and stayed at about 60% while the two concessionaires held their contracts to the end.
Aims for full coverage by 2029; the network is described as 75% in one report but concentrated in the centre.
Swissinfo (D. Burkhalter)How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- Piped water reached 44.5% of the population in 1998; the figure for 2019 is given as 59.4%.
- The concessions ran 25 years (1998–2023) and the two concessionaires kept their contracts to the end while coverage stayed at about 60%.
- ICIJ documented that the contract was awarded without a tender, that Thames partnered with a son of President Suharto and Suez with the Salim Group.
- Supreme Court 2017: the partnership was unlawful. Records differ on the later effect: set aside in 2018 on procedural grounds, or contracts restructured because of a feared 6.7 trillion rupiah compensation.
- Ground in North Jakarta sank about 11 cm a year on average in 2014–2018; in places up to 26 cm a year in 1991–1997.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- pam-jaya (January 2026): Aims for full network coverage by 2029, which would need about 7,000 km of pipe and one million household connections. · Swissinfo (D. Burkhalter)
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2017; reported set aside 2018 on procedural groundsOverturned on appealChallenge to the Jakarta water privatisationSupreme Court of Indonesia · Civil · Not named in the record → Not named in the record
The Supreme Court found the water partnership unlawful in 2017. One record says the decision was set aside in 2018 on procedural grounds; another records that the utility restructured the contracts, fearing 6.7 trillion rupiah in termination compensation. The Jakarta Post
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Accounts
Record
- Unclear Whether the private operators' earnings were returned after the court finding: the research record found no data.
- Disputed What the 2017 ruling changed: records differ (set aside in 2018 on procedural grounds, or contracts restructured because of a feared 6.7 trillion rupiah compensation).
- None on record Personal penalties for anyone involved: none recorded.
Did the harm stop?
The private concessions ended in 2023 and operation returned to PAM Jaya. The record does not show whether groundwater pumping or subsidence changed afterwards.
Who paid?
Households, hotels and businesses outside the network, which used wells or bought water (one Muara Angke family reported paying 20,000 rupiah a day for eight jerry cans); the utility said it feared 6.7 trillion rupiah in compensation if it ended the contracts.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Water and politics in the fall of SuhartoICIJ · 2003
- What you need to know about Jakarta's water privatizationThe Jakarta Post · 2018-04-12
- Waterlogged Jakarta fights for survival (headline taken from the URL)Swissinfo (D. Burkhalter) · 2026-01-27
Researchers
- Land subsidence in Jakarta, Water 14(20), article 3197MDPI Water · 2022
Connected cases
- Jakarta's private water concessions and the groundwater wells that filled the gap Indonesia · 1998–2023
- PAM Jaya (Jakarta water utility) (Public authority) — here: City water utility; counterparty to the concessions; there: City water utility that restructured contracts and took over the service
- Palyja (Company) — here: Private concessionaire, 1998–2023; there: Private concessionaire of the western part of the piped network
- Aetra (Company) — here: Private concessionaire, 1998–2023; there: Private concessionaire of the eastern part of the piped network
- Supreme Court of Indonesia (Court) — here: Found the arrangement unlawful in 2017; there: Court that annulled the privatisation in 2017
- Eight winners named in Indonesia's waste-to-energy tenders, including Chandra Asri unit Indonesia · 2026
- Suez (Company) — here: Water multinational; partner of the Salim Group (ICIJ); there: Among the eight winners
- Indonesia reopens sea-sand exports on a 17.66 billion m3 potential estimate Indonesia · 2023
- Supreme Court of Indonesia (Court) — here: Found the arrangement unlawful in 2017; there: ruled on the judicial review
- Philippine Supreme Court fined Manila's water firms over untreated sewage Philippines · 1997–2037
- Suez (Company) — here: Water multinational; partner of the Salim Group (ICIJ); there: co-holder of the west-zone concession, 1997