Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines the Rempang Eco City project, a National Strategic Project (PSN) in Indonesia's Riau Islands, which is promoted as a green industrial zone for solar panel glass manufacturing. It argues that the project, linked to the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) framework, has resulted in forced evictions, human rights violations, and the marginalization of indigenous Malay, Orang Laut, and Orang Darat communities. The analysis reveals a lack of transparency in the PSN designation process and suggests that the project is driven by a network of global and local elites, specifically citing the involvement of Xinyi Group and the use of shell companies in the British Virgin Islands to obscure beneficial ownership. The report concludes that the transition to green energy is being used as a cover for land grabbing and corruption, calling for the recognition of customary land rights and a re-evaluation of JETP's social justice criteria.

The report examines the Rempang Eco City project, a National Strategic Project (PSN) in Indonesia's Riau Islands, which is promoted as a green industrial zone for solar panel glass production. It argues that the project contradicts the principles of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) by causing forced evictions, human rights abuses, and social conflict among indigenous Malay, Orang Laut, and Orang Darat communities. The analysis reveals that the project's primary investor, Xinyi Group, plans to use a 2 GW coal-fired power plant, undermining its 'green' label. Furthermore, the report alleges systemic corruption and a lack of transparency, identifying PT Makmur Elok Graha (PT MEG) as the concession holder and tracing its ownership through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands to hide the beneficial ownership of figures like Tomy Winata. The document concludes that the project prioritizes elite profit and foreign investment over the rights and basic needs of local residents, who continue to face electricity shortages while the region is developed for energy exports to Singapore.