On 10 April 2025, the Netherlands Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN, Marc Gerritsen, met with the Minister of Public Works, Dody Hanggodo, to discuss cooperation in the field of water resources under the Memorandum of Understanding on Water, signed in 2022 and valid until 2027. During the meeting, the Dutch Government expressed its commitment to supporting Indonesia's priority programmes to realise coastal protection in Demak and Cirebon as part of the Giant Sea Wall initiative to protect the North Coast of Java from the threat of tidal flooding, abrasion, and land subsidence. Other programmes include the construction of water treatment plants from peat to drinking water in Riau and South Kalimantan, as well as waste-to-energy facilities at the Legok Nangka landfill in West Java.
The funding from the Netherlands is being provided through the financing agency Invest International with a financial package worth IDR 5.72 trillion or EUR 300 million in the form of grants and soft loans. From 2008, through the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) programme, the Netherlands government has been involved in the early stages of planning and technical studies for the project to secure the north coast of Java. Gerritsen underlined the government's commitment to support sustainable implementation through an integrated approach that includes nature-based solutions, social protection and inter-ministerial coordination. The Coordinating Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development will serve as the leading coordinator for this project to establish an agency for the Giant Sea Wall, as mandated by the President.
