The Rebana Metropolitan Region is fast becoming one of the most important economic corridors in Indonesia. And the Australia-Indonesia Centre sees a place for bilateral collaboration.
Spanning seven districts on Java and home to ten million people, it has been designated a national growth hub by the Indonesian government and is already attracting large-scale investment, including from two electric vehicle manufacturers and long-term backing from the Japanese government. With an international airport and deep-sea port, the region is positioning itself as a major logistics and innovation hub for Java.
Growth at this scale brings a substantial energy and infrastructure challenge. The West Java Provincial Government has an economic growth target of 7.44 percent by 2030. Rebana needs to find the right energy mix to power its new industrial zones while delivering the workforce skills, transport access and quality of life its communities expect. That challenge is also an opportunity: it will require knowledge and investment to plan, build and operate the systems the region needs.
This is where the Australia-Indonesia Centre sees a genuine role for Australian expertise. Through Powering Rebana, a program the AIC has established with a consortium of partners, the AIC is drawing on its track record of building bilateral partnerships to support the region’s vision around energy, workforce and urban mobility priorities.
To identify priorities and understand development goals, the Powering Rebana consortium partners undertook a two day workshop at the Monash University Indonesia campus. The AIC, Monash Energy Institute, CSIRO, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and RACE for 2030 CRC met to plan around the region’s potential for sustainable economic development.
The workshop sessions were also attended by executives from Indonesia’s state electricity utility, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Kertajati International Airport, Kertajati International Industrial Estate Majalengka (KIEM), Vietnamese electric manufacturer VinFast and Rebana management.
Mrs Zuchrufijati, Deputy for Infrastructure Management at BP Rebana, says the authority strongly supports collaborative programs with Australia that can bring practical knowledge and expertise.
“Initiatives such as this can contribute to our goals of strengthening economic growth and workforce capability, and we see significant potential to build on this collaboration through further initiatives that deliver practical outcomes for the region,” she said.
This massive urban project estimates at least 1.78 million jobs will be generated by 2030 through industrialisation. And with Rebana already home to major industries it needs to find the right energy mix to support future economic growth.
According to Associate Professor Julie Karel, Deputy Director of Research at Monash Energy Institute, the Powering Rebana program builds on an existing scholarly partnership with the national electricity utility, PLN.
This initiative continues a legacy of collaboration shaped by the late Professor Ariel Liebman during his time as Director of the Monash Energy Institute and an AIC research lead, who established ties between Monash and Indonesia’s energy sector.
In 2025, Monash University Indonesia, RACE for 2030 CRC, and PLN, supported by Monash Energy Institute, launched the Ariel Liebman PhD Program. Based at Monash University Indonesia, this joint initiative supports nine PhD candidates by 2030. Monash Energy Institute is now exploring how this partnership model could grow into a broader bilateral joint research initiative in Rebana, connecting academic expertise with practical regional needs.
“This is an opportunity to strengthen the links between Australia and Indonesia as both countries develop more expertise, skills and practical analysis to build the infrastructure required to support the energy system of the future”, said Associate Professor Karel.
The AIC is working with three PLN Monash Master’s students to investigate energy capacity for current and future needs in Rebana. Their work includes analysing the physical layout of industrial sites, mapping energy needs against the Indonesian government’s ten year electricity development plan and assessing the opportunity for renewable energy sources.
According to AIC Executive Director Boyd Whalan, the Powering Rebana program comes at the right time.
“This region represents the potential for Indonesia at a time it is pursuing economic growth and the development of new and innovative industries, especially ones that bring technology and training to the community,” he said.
Energy transition and infrastructure is just one theme in Powering Rebana.
Consortium partners are also investigating skills and workforce development and urban mobility. All of these align with the nine development steps of the Provincial Government of West Java such as a focus on industry training, and research and innovation including around renewable energy. The three areas also support Indonesia’s industrialisation and downstreaming agenda.
An example of investment linked to shared goals can be seen at the Patimban International Port, which has received financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency to establish a world-class maritime gateway. The port serves alongside Kertajati Airport to create a primary logistics and development hub and both facilities are part of the wider spatial master plan, which has also received Japanese government backing.
An AIC founding partner, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), is the program’s Indonesian anchor with a campus inside the Rebana zone, at Cirebon. It has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the AIC to support the West Java provincial government’s nine development steps including workforce capacity and research and innovation.
According to Professor Ari Darmawan Pasek, from the Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, this enables the university to see the challenges and possible solutions up-close.
“Our position inside the Rebana zone allows us to work closely with the authorities to ensure the work we could do as a research institution aligns with the need to build skills, employment and infrastructure to support growth, ” said Professor Pasek.
The consortium is working on the next steps that will support strategic investment and transformation in the Rebana region and strengthening binational ties between two neighbouring countries.
