Media Release
2 November 2017
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson begins his visit to Palembang, South Sumatera today and will meet local leaders, university students and Australian alumni.
The Ambassador will join Governor of South Sumatra, Alex Noerdin and Mayor of Palembang, Harnojoyo for a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the new Palembang City Waste Water Treatment Plant.
The plant will be jointly funded by Australia and Indonesia and has a total value of IDR1.2 trillion.
“The treatment works will make a real difference to the lives of thousands of families in Palembang and will demonstrate a more sustainable way of planning, budgeting, building and maintaining sanitation infrastructure which should be replicated in cities across Indonesia,” Ambassador Grigson said.
“Our partnership supports the Government of Indonesia’s goal for all households to have access to clean water and basic sanitation by 2019,” he said.
The project will initially provide sewerage connections to 12,000 households and businesses. Around 60,000 people in Palembang City will directly benefit from the project, and a future expansion could increase service coverage to over 21,000 connections and 100,000 people.
“Australian companies can help bring expertise and capital to key sectors of the economy that Indonesia is trying to develop further and make real contributions to employment, incomes and economic growth in Indonesia. The Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) is an opportunity to make that change,” he said.
While in Palembang the Ambassador will also meet Australian alumni and speak to students at Universitas Muhammadiyah.
“I am always keen to meet Australian alumni, and those interested in studying in Australia. Australia is proud to be the destination of choice for Indonesian university students studying overseas, with more than 9,000 Indonesians studying in Australian universities each year,” Ambassador Grigson said.
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