Jakarta still seeking additional dump sites<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Five months prior to the closure of the Bantar Gebang dump site
\nin Bekasi mayoralty, councillors have demanded the City
\nSanitation Agency to ready for locating alternative dump sites to
\navoid a possible garbage crisis next year.<\/p>\n
"We need assurances that the city will not experience another
\ngarbage crisis next year. Therefore, we want the agency to report
\nany progress on the preparations," said chairman Koeswadi of City
\nCouncil Commission D on development affairs during a hearing with
\nthe agency on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Head of the agency Salamat Limbong admitted that his agency
\nhad a limited ability and could handle only 2,500 of 6,000 tons
\nof garbage produced by Jakartans daily. He also said that only
\ntwo garbage treatment facilities in Bojong village, Bogor, and in
\nCakung, North Jakarta, would be ready by December.<\/p>\n
The total capacity of the two facilities, operated by PT Wira
\nGulfindo Sarana, will be around 2,500 tons per day. The
\nfacilities use the German ball press technology, and the city
\nmust pay a tipping fee to the company at Rp 53,000 (US$6.5) per
\nton.<\/p>\n
"Both locations have been prepared (by the agency) as
\nemergency sites once the Bantar Gebang dump site has been closed
\ndown," said Limbong.<\/p>\n
The agency's plan to set up a dump site in Duri Kosambi with a
\ntarget of 1,000 tons is facing a problem since the city
\nadministration has yet to issue a permit for its construction.
\nCity officials had claimed earlier that the construction of the
\ndump site was 80 percent complete.<\/p>\n
Bekasi closed the Bantar Gebang dump site at the end of 2001,
\naccusing Jakarta of causing environmental damage, and in turn
\ncaused a garbage crisis in the capital, as most of the waste was
\nleft to pile up unchecked, particularly at traditional markets,
\non street corners and in neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and State Minister for the
\nEnvironment Nabiel Makarim stepped in and ended the dispute in
\nJanuary 2002, but Jakarta had to pay a compensation of Rp 14
\nbillion and build various facilities, including a community
\nhealth center and a water pipeline, in the villages of Ciketing
\nUdik, Cikiwul and Sumur Batu in Bantar Gebang district.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso has said that the administration would not
\nextend an agreement with Bekasi mayoralty for the 104-hectare
\ndump site. Jakarta first began using Bantar Gebang in 1996, and
\nthe agreement is to end on Dec. 31, 2003.<\/p>\n
Limbong said that his agency has planned to construct six
\ngarbage treatment facilities using the ball press technology in
\nSukapura and Sunter in North Jakarta, two units in Pulo Gebang,
\nEast Jakarta, and two units in Cakung-Cilincing, East Jakarta.
\nWith a capacity of 500 tons each, the facilities built on city
\nland could accommodate around 3,000 tons of garbage.<\/p>\n
However, the plan remains a pipe dream since the agency has
\nnot received the green light from the governor to commence the
\nproject. Limbong said that he had no idea as to the funding for
\nthe project, since it was not included in the 2003 City Budget.<\/p>\n
The ball press machine must be imported from Germany, and at a
\ncost of Rp 15 billion for each machine, the agency needs an
\nadditional Rp 90 billion to purchase six machines.<\/p>",
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