Banten
Jakarta's industrial buffer—Krakatau Steel, 4,000 MW Suralaya coal plant, 17 industrial zones generating 52%+ of GRDP; Q1-Q3 2025 investment 142% of target.
Banten was carved from West Java in October 2000 not because of cultural difference but geographic function: it buffers Jakarta. The Sunda Strait separates Java from Sumatra, and Banten controls the crossing. The Port of Merak handles the ferry traffic; the Port of Ciwandan handles the cargo that overflows from Jakarta. When Indonesia's capital needs relief, Banten absorbs it.
Cilegon exemplifies the pattern. Known as Indonesia's 'Steel City,' it hosts PT Krakatau Steel—the nation's largest steel maker—on 280 hectares where scrap metal arrives by sea from across the archipelago. Adjacent sits the 4,000 MW Suralaya plant, Indonesia's largest coal-fired power station, feeding electricity to Java. The province's 17 industrial zones generate over 52% of GRDP from manufacturing: chemicals, textiles, rubber, leather. By September 2025, investment realization reached Rp 91.5 trillion, 142% of the annual target.
The geography that made Banten Jakarta's industrial backyard now makes it a decarbonization test case. Those coal plants and steel furnaces represent Indonesia's carbon-intensive past; whether they transition or strand determines the province's future. By 2026, Indonesia's Just Energy Transition Partnership with G7 nations may force choices that Banten's industrial zones are not yet prepared to make.