A comprehensive plan needed to prevent flood<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Almost all city officials concerned with flooding have
\nrealized that without an integrated program, Jakarta, 40 percent
\nof whose total 24,000 square kilometers is low-lying land, can
\nnever be free from the dangers of flooding.<\/p>\n
The integrated program should include the construction of
\nflood canals at the city's northern coastal area, the development
\nof flood control facilities and the clearance of illegal squatter
\ndwellings and garbage, both of which form obstructions to flood
\ncontrol infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Such a condition has been known about since the 1900s, when
\nthe country was still colonized by the Netherlands which, at that
\ntime, had planned to build flood canals in the northern coastal
\nareas of the city.<\/p>\n
Then in 1973, the government asked an Amsterdam-based
\nconsultant, Nedesco, to produce a grand design to free the city
\nfrom the threat of flooding.<\/p>\n
The government now wants to implement the design and it has
\nasked the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to
\nreview it.<\/p>\n
According to the design, flooding in the city can be avoided
\nby developing two main canals, namely the West and East Flood
\nCanals. These would serve to drain all of the city's 13 large
\nrivers that flow toward Jakarta Bay through the northern coastal
\nareas of the city.<\/p>\n
When completed, the two canals would form a semicircle from
\nthe western part of North Jakarta to the eastern part of East
\nJakarta in the city's northern coastal area, which is mostly low-
\nlying land.<\/p>\n
They will carry all the water from the 13 rivers and then
\nchannel it into the sea in Jakarta Bay using pumps.<\/p>\n
The West Canal, 17 kilometers long, was developed by the Dutch
\nin the 1900s, with its sluice at Manggarai, South Jakarta, and
\nwas completed in 1918. But the width of the channel has been
\nnarrowed considerably, disrupting the flow of water through it.<\/p>\n
The East Canal has yet to be constructed. This project has
\nbeen on and off since the design was first produced in 1973.<\/p>\n
Recently, however, the government seemed to be serious about
\nrestarting the project. The City Public Works Agency pledged that
\nconstruction of the East Canal, which would require Rp 1.3
\ntrillion (US$130 million), should be started this year.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that the project can be completed within five years,\"
\nchief of the agency IGKG Suena, once said.<\/p>\n
The canal will run for 23 kilometers from the D.I. Panjaitan,
\nCipinang, Buaran, Pondok Kopi and Cakung areas (all in East
\nJakarta) to Marunda beach in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Last year, the administration cleared three hectares of land,
\nworth Rp 40 billion, for the project's development. For its first
\nstage this year it needs some 230 hectares of land to build the
\n100-meter-wide canal.<\/p>\n
The agency expected to secure 40 percent of the 230 hectares
\nof land from housing complex developers in East Jakarta, who have
\nyet to offer their land as an obligation for public and social
\nfacilities.<\/p>\n
But flooding problems will not be solved completely should the
\nconstruction of the East Canal be completed. There are still
\nother problems that the city administration should address.<\/p>\n
These include the development of floodways or main drains to
\nserve the city's small rivers in low-lying areas and the freeing
\nof all the facilities, including flood canals, from illegal
\nsquatters and buildings, which tend to reduce their width and
\ncause obstructions.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-comprehensive-plan-needed-to-prevent-flood-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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