Indonesia Sets Aside Capital for BRICS Bank Entry, Puts Forward 77 Projects

Jakarta prepares to buy into a new source of development finance

Indonesia has set aside money to become a shareholder in the New Development Bank, the lender established by BRICS members, while putting forward a working list of 77 potential projects spanning infrastructure, energy, digital connections and social programs.

As of October 15, 2025, Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia had approved the capital payment on its side. Jakarta wants to complete accession as soon as possible, although the final timetable, the size of its share subscription and its payment schedule have not been disclosed.

President Prabowo Subianto announced the decision to join during a meeting in Jakarta with NDB President Dilma Rousseff, the former Brazilian president. The move follows Indonesia's entry as a full member of the expanded BRICS group in January and would deepen its financial relationships with emerging economies across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The bank has $100 billion in authorized capital and has approved about $39 billion in financing for 120 projects. Its focus on infrastructure and sustainable development overlaps with Indonesia's plans to improve transport, expand clean energy, strengthen public services and support economic transformation.

For Indonesian state enterprises and regional governments, membership would add another potential source of financing for expensive projects that take years to build and repay. The NDB would complement existing relationships with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and bilateral lenders.

How Indonesia reached this stage

Indonesia's move toward the bank brings together its recent BRICS membership and Prabowo's domestic development agenda. Joining the political grouping and becoming a shareholder in its development bank involve separate steps.

• 2015: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa established the New Development Bank to finance infrastructure and sustainable development.
• January 2025: Indonesia became a full member of the expanded BRICS group.
• By October 15, 2025: Prabowo had announced Indonesia's decision to join the NDB, and Airlangga said the Indonesian side had approved the capital payment.

Jakarta has also presented a broad project pipeline to the bank. Working lists identify 77 proposals for consideration, giving the discussions a practical focus alongside the negotiations over membership and capital.

What kind of bank is Indonesia joining?

The NDB was created to mobilize money for infrastructure and sustainable development. It describes itself as a bank from the Global South, working with the strategies of its members rather than applying a single policy template to every country.

Membership is open to countries belonging to the United Nations, provided BRICS members retain a majority stake. No individual member has veto power, meaning no country can singlehandedly block a decision through a special veto right.

The five founders subscribed $50 billion in capital at launch, divided equally among them. Each founding member initially held 18.76 percent of the shares. The bank has since admitted Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Algeria, with smaller subscriptions tailored to their economic capacity.

Authorized capital is the ceiling on the capital the institution is permitted to issue. Subscribed capital is the amount members have committed to purchase. The NDB's $100 billion authorization therefore serves a different purpose from its roughly $39 billion in approved project financing.

The bank lends to national governments, authorities below the national level and state enterprises. Its projects include transport corridors, water and sanitation, electricity generation and grids, and improvements to cities.

Much of its early financing went to the five founding economies. Lending to newer members is possible, although their projects have historically moved more slowly through approval. That experience matters for Indonesia as it prepares to turn a large list of proposals into individual financing applications.

Why Prabowo wants membership

Prabowo has linked NDB membership to an economic program centered on better logistics, food security, the energy transition and human capital. Human capital means the health, education and skills that help people work productively and improve their lives.

At the Presidential Palace, he presented membership as a way to speed structural change, raise productivity, connect Indonesia's islands more efficiently and expand access to clean energy. He also linked the partnership to infrastructure construction and stronger social programs.

President Prabowo Subianto described the purpose of joining in terms of faster economic change:

Joining NDB as a member would help Indonesia accelerate its economic transformation.

Rousseff highlighted Indonesia's development strategy for the long term and its medium term plan. She described a potential partnership stretching from logistics and digital connectivity to education, health, housing and efforts to reduce poverty and hunger.

NDB President Dilma Rousseff also set out the bank's approach to national priorities and sovereignty:

It is a great honor to have Indonesia as a new member country. The NDB is a bank from the Global South, for the Global South, and respects the sovereignty of each member country, relying on their strategies and priorities.

For Jakarta, that approach offers a lender whose stated priorities align with its own plans. For the bank, Indonesia brings economic scale, a defined policy framework and a substantial list of possible investments.

What the 77 proposals cover

Indonesia's proposed pipeline spans transport, renewable energy, digital connectivity, urban services and social programs. Discussions have also covered biodiesel, other renewable energy initiatives and technological development.

The government has included a national school feeding program, improvements along the palm oil production chain and facilities that turn waste into energy. Those proposals show that the talks extend beyond roads and power plants into food, industry and services that affect daily life.

Transport and port improvements, toll roads, mass transit and electricity grid modernization are expected to feature because they are central to Indonesia's effort to lower logistics costs and make its economy more competitive.

The practical challenge is to develop proposals that the bank can assess and finance. A project pipeline is a list of candidates at different stages of preparation. Individual investments still need detailed plans, financing arrangements and approval under the NDB's processes.

Projects that closely match both Indonesia's established plans and the bank's priorities are likely to offer the earliest opportunities. Transport links, clean energy and urban services fit that description, while education, health and housing form part of the broader discussion.

Transport and power offer clear areas of overlap

Indonesia's geography makes transport a central concern. Across an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, efficient shipping, modern ports and better connections for the final stage of a delivery can help goods move more cheaply and reliably.

Small and medium businesses could benefit from lower transport costs and stronger trade flows. Toll road extensions, railway connections and urban mass transit could also improve mobility and support regional centers of economic growth.

Indonesia's energy plans provide another substantial area of overlap. The country has some of the world's largest geothermal resources, alongside considerable potential for solar and hydroelectric power. NDB financing could fit projects that add renewable generation and reinforce electricity transmission.

Grid improvements matter because producing electricity and delivering it are separate tasks. New generating capacity needs transmission infrastructure to carry power to the places where households and businesses use it.

Biodiesel projects aligned with national energy policy may also attract attention. Distributed energy systems, which generate electricity closer to users, and pilot projects for battery storage are other possibilities within the prospective energy pipeline.

Water, waste and protection for cities

Water supply, sanitation, waste management and flood protection form another group of potential investments. These services affect health, working conditions and the time people can devote to earning a living.

The NDB has a growing record in urban services and climate resilience. Projects that combine adaptation to climate risks with job creation would fit both the bank's mission and Indonesia's development priorities.

Waste to energy facilities sit at the intersection of several goals already discussed with the bank: managing rubbish, supplying energy and improving urban services. Water and sanitation investments could deliver more direct improvements in living conditions and productivity.

Indonesia's regional governments and state enterprises could have a role in such projects. Access to another multilateral lender would widen their potential funding options, especially for infrastructure requiring substantial investment and repayment over many years.

What Indonesia must contribute

NDB membership requires a country to purchase shares and commit capital. The contribution has two parts: paid in capital, which is money actually transferred to the bank, and callable capital, which is a commitment the bank can draw on if needed to protect its obligations.

Indonesia has earmarked money to begin the process. Officials say the bank offers the option of making payments in seven installments, allowing the cash contribution to be spread over several years rather than concentrated in one budget.

Bangladesh and the UAE have completed their first three installments, while Egypt has made its first transfer. The UAE participates as a member that does not borrow from the bank.

Other newer members have subscribed roughly 1 percent to 2 percent of the bank's capital. Those arrangements provide a guide to the scale of some recent admissions, although Indonesia's own subscription remains to be agreed and disclosed.

A similar approach could make Indonesia's payments manageable within its medium term fiscal framework, the government's plan for revenue and spending over several years. Installments ease annual pressure, but the paid in portion remains an actual budget outlay rather than a guarantee alone.

The allocation also needs to fit the government's other spending commitments. Membership creates a financial stake in the institution, while any subsequent project borrowing would involve its own financing terms and repayment obligations.

Why the currency of a loan matters

The NDB has issued green bonds, which raise funds for environmental projects, and has supported lending in local currencies in some markets. Indonesian borrowers could benefit if rupiah financing becomes available.

A state enterprise or municipal borrower may collect most of its revenue in rupiah. Borrowing in the same currency reduces the risk that exchange rate movements will make repayments more expensive in domestic money.

That feature is especially useful for infrastructure whose income comes from users inside Indonesia. Local currency lending can also support domestic capital markets by providing a reference for financing over longer periods.

Sustained rupiah lending would require the NDB to raise local currency funding at sufficient scale. Interest rates, exchange rate movements and investors' willingness to buy the bank's bonds would affect the cost and duration of its loans.

The bank's interest in working alongside other institutions could create opportunities to share the financing of green and sustainable projects. Such arrangements can combine resources from multilateral lenders, national development institutions and private investors.

Indonesia's existing relationships with the ADB, the World Bank and bilateral lenders would therefore remain relevant. Adding the NDB would diversify the sources of money available and provide another route for projects shaped around national priorities.

Admission and project preparation still require work

Indonesia and the NDB must settle the size of the share subscription, the balance between paid in and callable capital, and the payment schedule. The technical process also includes preparing the accession instrument, the formal document through which a country joins.

The bank's governors vote on admission and approve the share allocation and payment arrangements. Formal accession involves signing and depositing the membership instrument, while a new member typically completes the process by making its first paid in installment. National legislatures review and ratify multilateral agreements in some countries.

Uruguay illustrates why approval and completed membership can be separate stages. Its candidacy has received approval, but it must deposit its accession instrument to finalize membership.

Indonesia's economic team says the capital transfer plan is ready in principle and wants to move quickly through the formalities. Once membership takes effect, agencies and state enterprises can advance from initial concept notes to full proposals under the bank's procedures.

Egypt's experience shows that projects can take time to reach approval after a country joins. Indonesia will need to align its proposals with the NDB's environmental and social safeguards, procurement rules and project preparation standards.

Feasibility studies test whether a project can work technically and financially. Environmental assessments examine its effects on the surrounding area, while consultation gives affected communities a chance to raise concerns. Clear management and oversight arrangements are also necessary.

Preparing those elements well can speed approval and reduce the risk of costs rising during construction. Both Indonesian institutions and the bank will need capacity to build a varied pipeline in a new member country.

A wider financial role in Southeast Asia

Indonesia would be the first large ASEAN economy to join the NDB following its initial expansion beyond the founding members. A larger Indonesian portfolio could give the bank a stronger presence in Southeast Asia.

The region has substantial needs in transport connections across borders, electricity interconnections and digital networks. NDB activity in Indonesia could encourage neighboring countries to consider membership or partnerships to finance projects together.

Investments in Indonesian ports, logistics and energy could strengthen links with other regional economies and make supply chains more resilient. Any wider role would depend on the bank developing a steady flow of projects and finding demand among members.

A regional office serving ASEAN markets is a possibility over time, following the bank's practice of establishing offices in other regions. Such a decision would depend on project activity and member demand.

Indonesia also brings its position as a G20 economy to the relationship. Membership could strengthen the NDB's voice in global discussions and help develop financing partnerships connecting multilateral banks, national development institutions and private investors.

For now, the immediate tasks are narrower: complete accession, finalize the capital commitments and prepare projects capable of moving through the bank's approval process. Those steps will determine how the proposed partnership translates into transport, energy and public service investments.

Key Points

• Indonesia has set aside capital to join the NDB and wants to complete accession as soon as possible.
• Airlangga Hartarto says the Indonesian side has approved the capital payment; the final timing and subscription amount remain undisclosed.
• Prabowo announced the decision after meeting NDB President Dilma Rousseff in Jakarta, following Indonesia's full BRICS membership in January.
• The bank has $100 billion in authorized capital and has approved about $39 billion for 120 projects.
• Indonesia's working list contains 77 proposals, including transport, renewable energy, digital connectivity, urban services and social programs.
• Officials cite an option to pay capital in seven installments; paid in capital is cash, while callable capital is a contingent commitment.
• Potential rupiah lending could reduce exchange rate risks, subject to the bank raising sufficient local currency funding.
• Membership would add to Indonesia's financing options, while project preparation and approval would remain essential before lending begins.