On May 18, 2024, LI Guoying, Minister of Water Resources, P. R. China, and his delegation conducted a field investigation at the Jatigede Dam in Indonesia. Mr. Widadi, Director of Irrigation, Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Mr. Agus, Director of Cimanus River Basin Management Agency, Mr. WANG Xiaojun, Vice President of PowerChina, and Mr. ZHOU Jiayi, Vice President of PowerChina International Group Ltd. and General Manager of Asia-Pacific Regional Headquarters, accompanied the field trip, along with DAI Jiqun, President of Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI).
Minister LI Guoying conducted on-site investigation into the background of the dam construction, the current status of engineering operation, and safety monitoring facilities. He examined the digital twin system developed by NHRI and subsequently received a briefing on NHRI’s efforts in digital twin technology applied to the Jatigede Dam construction. Minister LI Guoying gave full recognition to the achievements during the digital twin system construction phase. He emphasized that NHRI should leverage its technical and experiential advantages in dam safety monitoring, information management, risk analysis, and emergency management. This, he said, would enhance China’s influence in international community of hydraulic technology and play a leading role in deepening the Belt and Road Initiative. Minister LI Guoying further stressed the need to establish a digital twin platform tailored to critical area and key processes of reservoir dams, in conjunction with local hydrological and meteorological conditions, by providing Chinese expertise and solutions for the safety of dams in Indonesia, such as the Jatigede Dam. China is willing to engage in practical cooperation with Indonesian government to continuously enhance Indonesia's capability in dam safety assurance.
Upon its construction completion, the Jatigede Dam became the largest hydraulic engineering project in Indonesia, often referred to as Indonesia’s “Three Gorges Project”. During his visit to Indonesia in October 2013, Chinese President XI Jinping specifically mentioned the Jatigede Dam in his speech, praising it as a project completed through bilateral cooperation that would greatly benefit local residents in their production and livelihood. Minister LI Guoying highlighted that both countries had engaged in long-term and substantive cooperation in the field of water resources, achieving significant results, during a meeting with Indonesian Minister of Public Works and Housing Basuki Hadimuljono at the 18th World Water Resources Congress in September 2023. He expressed the hope for continued practical cooperation in water resources under the Belt and Road Initiative framework, emphasizing the need to enhance policy dialogue and technical exchanges. China has expressed its readiness to share its experiences in reservoir dam construction and management, actively participating in Indonesian reservoir dam construction projects, and jointly advancing technological innovation, such as digital twin hydraulic engineering, to further elevate water governance capabilities.
With sustainable support from Asian Cooperation Funding projects, NHRI has deeply collaborated with ASEAN countries, establishing long-term and friendly relations, and achieving mutually beneficial cooperation. Based on this foundation, NHRI has engaged in friendly and in-depth exchanges with Indonesian counterparts through on-site investigations, visits, and other forms of communication, to implement the suggestions and proposals from bilateral ministerial meetings, resulting in consensus and subsequent work on the demonstration cooperation of digital twin technology for the Jatigede Dam. NHRI will further leverage its technological and experiential advantages to continuously enhance dam safety capabilities across ASEAN countries.
