ADB responds
The Jakarta Post articles Homes remain elusive for Acehnese on Idul Fitri (Oct. 31), and Tsunami survivors grow weary of wait for homes (Nov. 10) unfortunately offer an incomplete picture of the Asian Development Bank's efforts to assist the people of Aceh, Nias and North Sumatra with housing and rehabilitation.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was one of the first donors to offer grant assistance to the people of Indonesia affected by the tsunami. These grants exceeded $300 million and were designed to be flexible in order to offer the quickest assistance possible across a wide range of areas, including agriculture, fisheries, irrigation, livelihoods, housing, water and sanitation, health, transport, power, spatial planning and fiduciary oversight.
In the housing sector, ADB initially offered to support two pilot projects in and near Banda Aceh that would build more than 400 new houses and repair 40 others, benefiting about 1,700 people. Plans are underway to ultimately build 11,000 new houses and repair 5,000 others. ADB has worked closely with the Aceh- Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) to fast-track the design and implementation of these projects.
However, it has not yet been possible to implement these programs because of procedural delays in finalizing the project management arrangements with BRR and the responsible ministry. ADB continues to work together with BRR and the concerned ministries to remove the bottlenecks to ensure the success of its support, not only for the housing projects but also for the other components of the grant assistance.
ADB and the BRR are also committed to taking a community- driven approach to housing that carefully assesses the needs of the people in the area before construction begins. This will link housing to related infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges and other facilities. Fully integrating the community's needs into the rebuilding process takes time, but it leads to long-term, sustainable communities whose homes and neighborhoods are not simply replaced, but rebuilt to a higher standard.
The reconstruction of Aceh, Nias and North Sumatra has not proceeded as quickly as was hoped, but progress is being made. ADB has been working with Indonesia for nearly four decades and it has made a long-term commitment to the task of helping to rebuild the tsunami-affected areas.
PIETER SMIDT Head, ADB's Extended Mission for Sumatra