"Indonesia breaks ground on China-backed 'green' industrial zone on Borneo", 21 December 2021

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo broke ground Tuesday on a U.S. $129-billion “green” industrial estate on Borneo to be built with investments from China and the United Arab Emirates and electrified by a Chinese-funded hydropower plant. [...]

There are concerns however, that the five dams being built on the Kayan River and other rivers in the province will threaten the region’s pristine forests and ecosystem. The Kayan River runs through the northern part of Kalimantan, the Indonesian section of Borneo Island, where vast swaths of forest have been cleared for logging, mining, and the cultivation of palm oil.

Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), a private think-tank, said the government should live up to the green label of the industrial zone and make up for forest areas lost in its construction. [...]