TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) plans to allocate approximately Rp6 trillion from the state budget to build 1,542 service units for free nutritious meals (SPPG), according to agency head Dadan Hindayana.
Speaking to reporters at the parliamentary complex in Senayan on Tuesday, May 6, Dadan said BGN is currently identifying land for the planned facilities. He confirmed that funding has been secured and is now in the management consultation phase.
He noted that the existing SPPG facilities have so far been built by partners involved in the Free Nutritious Meal Program. "BGN is just beginning the planning and tender process for the 1,542 units, expected to conclude by the end of this month, with completion targeted for August," Dadan explained.
Thanks to partnerships, 1,286 SPPG units have been established across Indonesia as of May 5. Another 219 are slated for construction on May 14. "This progress is due to partnership support. If we relied solely on the state budget, the Free Nutritious Meal Program would only begin implementation in August," he told lawmakers during a hearing with the DPR's Commission IX.
The expansion of SPPG infrastructure aims to accelerate the program’s reach. Initially, the program targeted 17.9 million beneficiaries comprising 15.5 million schoolchildren and 2.4 million pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers. This number is set to rise to 82.9 million by November.
Dadan also clarified that BGN has not yet spent any funds on SPPG construction, which explains why its capital expenditure remains at zero. "We are still in the planning stage," he said.
Of BGN’s total 2025 budget of Rp71 trillion, Rp2.386 trillion, or around 3.36 percent, has been disbursed. The agency’s capital expenditure ceiling stands at Rp10.116 trillion, but none of it has been utilized to date.
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