Summary: The Batang Toru project dates back to 2008, when PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE) was established to develop it. The project is planned to cover 16,304 acres and have a capacity of 510 MW. NSHE claimed it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.6-2.2 million tons per year, a figure environmental groups dispute. Pre-construction began in 2015, with main construction beginning in 2017. Originally expected to be completed and operational by 2022, it has been mired in controversy due to ecological concerns and local opposition.

Since 2016, there have been protests among the nearby indigenous communities and alleged violence, including the suspicious death of a local activist opposed to the project. In 2017, the Tapanuli orangutan species was confirmed in the area, prompting calls by national and international environmental organisations for the cancellation of the project and the withdrawal of Bank of China, the project's original financier. Meanwhile, at least 18 people have died from accidents at the site just between 2020 and 2023.

After ownership transfers and refinancing in 2021-22, the project appeared to continue, but the Indonesian government revoked a permit in January 2026 for damage to nearby forests.

Location: South Tapanuli District, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Companies: PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE) is the direct project developer. It is a consortium with a majority 70% ownership by the Chinese state-owned company State Development and Investment Corporation (SDIC), 25% by the Indonesian state-owned PT Pembangunan Jawa Bali Investasi, and 5% by the Singaporean company Asia Hydria.

SDIC’s stake in the project came from the purchase of a 52.8% stake of NSHE from the original owner, the Chinese hydropower company Zhefu Holdings, in 2021. In November 2022, SDIC increased its holdings from 52.8 to 70%.

Investors and financiers:

The project's original financier was the Bank of China. However, after receiving pressure from a coalition of activist groups in early 2019, it committed to reviewing its support (apparently the first time a Chinese bank had publicly responded to pressure from NGOs regarding overseas financing), and then later withdrew all financing by 2020.

Later in 2022, the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim) agreed to provide a syndicated loan to NSHE, likely up to 1.251 billion, as the loan guarantee provided by SDIC to China Exim (minority shareholders are excluded from the guarantee).

Project impacts and concerns:

• Environmental impacts

The Batang Toru forest area, according to one analysis, is one of the ‘most biodiverse terrestrial areas in the world’. Having already experienced significant deforestation in the past two decades, it is ‘sensitive to further disruption’. It is home to many endangered species, including Sumatran tigers, sun bears, and pangolins.

Most notably, it concerns the Tapanuli Orangutan, a species numbering only about 800, which was discovered in 2017, around the time the project began construction. The roads and dams along the Batang Toru river would bisect the core territory of the orangutans, which do not generally cross through forest breaks created by roads, negatively impacting the population pools. A scientific study published in 2019 concluded that the dam might tip the species toward extinction.

• Opposition and intimidation

Since construction started in 2017, there have been repeated cases of violence and intimidation. In August 2017, indigenous peoples at Luat Lombang village clashed with company representatives and police.

In 2019, Golfrid Siregar, a leading member of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, was found dead. While police proclaimed it an accident, several inconsistencies led many to suspect that he had been killed. He had organised protests and legal opposition to the project. At the time, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment had recently filed a lawsuit opposing the project.

In 2023, a public discussion organised by local environmental activists about the project’s threats to the Tapanuli Orangutan was disrupted when an individual interrupted and angrily demanded that the event end. Other activists have reported receiving threats through calls and messages and being blocked by security forces from visiting the project area.

Two members of PanEco, a Swiss conservation group, were allegedly dismissed from their positions for having contributed to the 2019 scientific study, which claimed the project could lead to the extinction of the Tapanuli Orangutan. Indonesian government officials expressed anger at this, as they regarded PanEco as a partner and had been working under a common MoU.

• Worker safety

There have been at least 18 deaths just in the 2020-2023 period from four separate incidents, claiming the lives of both local people and workers, as well as Chinese workers. This includes two landslides, the collapse of a construction tunnel and a traffic accident due to road conditions. One anonymous worker reported that accidents were common and that he had seen colleagues fall to their deaths at work.

On 17 August 2025, a report titled "The Chinese Dam Threatening the World’s Most Endangered Ape" was published by Inside Climate News, detailing various aspects of human rights violations surrounding the Batang Toru hydropower project owned by Chinese companies, including intimitation of activists against the project, death of climate activate Golfrid Siregar, and wildlife migrations caused by the construction project, which led to impacts on livelihoods of local villagers.

Inside Climate News reached out to SDIC Power, NSHE and companies owning the dam for comment regarding the threats received by activists and the death of Golfrid Siregar. No response was received.

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre contacted SDIC Power, China Exim and Sinohydro to request a comment on the impact of wildlife migrations on local livelihoods. They did not respond.