City asked to prioritize Eastern Flood Canal project<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Disappointed with the city administration's policy for dealing
\nwith flooding, the City Council urged the administration on
\nFriday to allocate 10 percent of the Rp 11 trillion city budget
\nin 2003, or about Rp 1.1 trillion, to construction of the East
\nFlood Canal.<\/p>\n
\"The administration should not rely on the central government
\nto construct the canal. If it did, the canal would never see the
\nlight of day,\" Council deputy chairman Chudlory Syafei Hadzami
\ntold reporters at a year-end media conference.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by the two other deputy chairmen, Chudlory, of the
\nUnited Development Party, predicted the 23-kilometer (km) canal
\ncould be completed within the next seven years if the
\nadministration were to allocate Rp 1.1 trillion per year to it.<\/p>\n
He also called on residents, whose land was located in the
\nline of the proposed canal, to sell their land to the project in
\naccordance with the sale value of taxable property (NJOP), as
\nstipulated in the government regulation on land.<\/p>\n
\"The administration should make construction of the East Flood
\nCanal its top priority,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Development of the canal is predicted to cost Rp 7 trillion,
\nmore than 60 percent of which would be spent on acquisition of
\nthe 230 hectares of land needed for the project.<\/p>\n
After massive flooding in the city earlier this year, the
\ncentral government promised to help finance the construction of
\nthe canal. However, as of now, it is still unclear whether the
\ncentral government will really fund the project.<\/p>\n
The canal, along with the existing 15-km West Flood Canal,
\nbuilt during the Dutch colonial era, is believed to be able to
\naccommodate water from the city's 13 rivers and significantly
\nreduce floods.<\/p>\n
Separately, City Development Planning Office head Ritola
\nTasmaya revealed that the administration would allocate Rp 1
\ntrillion to flood prevention projects next year, but not solely
\nfor the East Flood Canal.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot not allocate any more than that. There are many
\nother projects that should also be prioritized,\" Ritola, just
\nappointed city secretary by the council, stated at City Hall.<\/p>\n
He said about Rp 65 billion would be allocated for land
\nacquisition for the canal project while the remaining funds would
\nbe used to finance several flood prevention projects, such as
\ndams in West and Central Jakarta and an improvement program
\n(including dredging, clearing of garbage, etc.) for the city's
\nrivers.<\/p>\n
This year, the administration has spent Rp 50 billion on the
\nacquisition of 2 hectares of land for the East Flood Canal, which
\nwill run through East and North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Most residents have refused to sell their land in accordance
\nwith the NJOP as the open market price is currently far above
\nthat of the NJOP.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the administration has refused to raise its offer
\nprice, saying that would be a violation of government
\nregulations.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-asked-to-prioritize-eastern-flood-canal-project-1447893297",
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