Andra Soni Highlights Shifting River Functions in Banten, Calls for Reorganisation

Banten Governor Andra Soni has stated that the handling of water resource issues in his region is currently still partial. He said water management in Banten needs to be carried out in an integrated and collective manner.

Andra Soni has just been inaugurated as Chairman of the Banten Provincial Water Resources Council for the 2026-2030 period. Meanwhile, Arlan Marzan, who also serves as Head of the Banten Provincial Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency, was appointed as the council’s Daily Chairman.

Andra outlined several key challenges in water resource management within Banten Province at present.

“The main challenges are the continuously increasing population in Banten, secondly the need for housing, and then the shift in river functions which must be managed and reorganised,” Andra said after the inauguration ceremony in Serang City, Banten, on Tuesday (9/6/2026).

Andra urged all members of the Water Resources Council, who come from various agencies and cross-sector water management organisations, to cooperate with one another. They were asked to contribute ideas and suggestions to overcome water issues in Banten.

“We are still partial, using the old sectoral ways. For example, we have two River Basin Offices, BBWS C3 and others. Then there are rivers under provincial authority, and these must be integrated,” Andra explained.

According to Andra, water issues concern the livelihoods of many people. Therefore, he stressed that the handling of these problems must not be done individually without coordination.

“This is a shared problem, so the handling must be shared. There must be no sectoral ego,” he asserted.

Regarding future steps, Andra said he will immediately intensify a river tracing programme as an effort to map problems directly in the field.

“Get straight to work and integrate data across regional agencies in Banten Province; there must be real action. For example, through river tracing to identify problems,” he concluded.