More than 18 months it took to get the Surabaya Project started! Partners found, funding found and plenty of waste found, so now we can start the project to set up, build and operate the very first Upp Circular Plastic Factory in Sidoarjo, near Surabaya, Indonesia.
The Kick-off meeting
This morning Boby Setiawan, Joost de Waard, Hai Ngo, and Jan Jaap Folmer organized the Kick-off meeting of the project. In the first phase of the project in which we have to get ready to submit a full proposal before May 2022 (12 months).
Suppliers have to be sought, a project company will be set up and market surveys will be started. Also, the products made have to be determined and will be designed. The production line set up and design will be done and a final business plan + budget will be submitted to the Alliance to End Plastic Waste in May 2022 when we will be able to start building and installing.
Financing the project
One of the biggest challenges has been funding. 16 months we have been negotiating with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, but in November this year, we agreed and moved to the next step. Action. The first phase, preparation, and feasibility has been approved so we can set up the real submission.
Besides the Alliance’s funding, we have also got financial support for a consultant on the project, Joost de Waard. Joost will coordinate and ‘project-manage’ the first phase of the project and MVO-NL + Ministery of Buza support this with an iMVO voucher which was approved last week. Celebrations all over!
And if this is not enough, we also are in the race to get support from P4G, to prepare ourselves further in the local supply chain, from sourcing feedstock to selling products. This will prepare us to go to market, be ready for operations and ensure real local embedding of the project and maximize impact. But this still has to be approved…
