Jakarta. The Public Works (PU) Ministry has furloughed thousands of contract workers and suspended multiple infrastructure projects following a massive Rp 81.38 trillion ($5 billion) budget cut. The reductions have halted road maintenance, clean water supply expansions, and waste management programs nationwide.

The ministry must reduce its 2025 budget by Rp 81.38 trillion as part of President Prabowo Subianto’s broader plan to cut Rp 306 trillion ($18.7 billion) from state spending to fund priority programs.

Reports suggest that 18,000 ministry workers have been affected. Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo clarified that those impacted were contract employees whose agreements had not been renewed due to ongoing budget reviews.

“Their contracts ended, and renewals have not been processed because our budget is still under review,” Dody told parliament members during a meeting on Wednesday.

The furloughs gained public attention after images went viral on social media, showing ministry employees gathered in parking lots, some embracing and in tears. A widely shared post claimed that more than 18,000 workers across Indonesia had been affected.

Dody expressed hope that the budget review would be completed soon, allowing contract renewals and the resumption of essential infrastructure projects.

He also stated that the ministry could no longer conduct routine maintenance on 47,603 kilometers of roads and 563,402 meters of bridges. Additionally, all new bridge construction projects and other technical management support initiatives have been suspended.

“The budget cuts affect critical infrastructure programs, forcing us to halt routine road and bridge maintenance, as well as several community-based projects,” Dody said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta.

The ministry has also canceled wastewater treatment systems for 10,240 households and waste management facilities for 9,540 households. Plans to expand clean water access to 863 households have been scrapped. Other affected projects include sanitation programs at 1,400 locations, community-based infrastructure initiatives at 825 sites, and waste processing facilities at 100 locations.

Dody confirmed that the ministry would not launch any new infrastructure projects under single-year (SYC) or multi-year contracts (MYC). While ongoing MYC projects will not be terminated, they will face delays.

“All MYC projects will be postponed temporarily, not canceled, but adjusted to ensure they can continue,” he said.