Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka officially inaugurated Dody Hanggodo as the Public Works Minister in the newly-formed Red and White Cabinet on Monday, October 21, 2024. This appointment has raised high expectations, given Dody’s background as a well-known entrepreneur with a strong reputation in the private sector.

On his first day as minister, Dody kept his remarks brief. "Just maintenance and improvements," he said at the Public Works Ministry's office in Jakarta on Monday.

Dody is an Indonesian bureaucrat and businessman from Surabaya with extensive experience in the plantation and shipping industries. He previously served as a commissioner at Senabangun Anekapertiwi, a palm oil plantation company and a subsidiary of  Pradiksi Gunatama (PGUN) from 2017-2020.

Dody has a son, Aushaf Fajr Herdiansyah, who is a Gerindra Party politician and a candidate for Deputy Regent of Nganjuk in the 2024 local elections.

Before becoming minister, Dody served as Secretary-General of the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry, where he was responsible for coordinating administrative support and development for the ministry’s various departments. He began his career at PUPR as the head of the construction services procurement office in East Java, appointed on June 22, 2020, along with 54 other administrative officials by then-Minister Basuki Hadimuljono. On Sept. 22, 2021, he was promoted to head of budget administration at the PUPR Ministry.

Dody’s appointment as Public Works Minister comes with structural changes to the ministry, splitting the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) into two separate entities: the Public Works Ministry and the Housing and Urban Development Ministry. Dody will be accompanied by Diana Kususmastuti as his deputy.

Meanwhile, the Housing and Urban Development Ministry will be led by Gerindra politician Maruarar Sirait, with Fahri Hamzah serving as his deputy.