Angke River Embankment Collapses, Suspected Due to Erosion and Illegal Buildings

West Jakarta Mayor Iin Mutmainnah revealed that the collapse of the embankment or concrete sheet pile along the Angke River in the Rawa Buaya area of Cengkareng was caused by abrasion and the load from illegal buildings standing on the riverbank.

This was stated by Iin after inspecting the site with officials from the Ciliwung Cisadane River Basin Organisation (BBWSCC), the Water Resources Sub-Department (SDA), and the Environmental Department (LH) on Thursday (26/3/2026).

“There is a boundary area for the location that just slid, caused by abrasion. The soil is eroded, and there are buildings attached to the side of the sheet pile. This is not allowed,” said Iin to reporters at the site on Thursday.

Iin explained that the presence of buildings attached to the concrete embankment structure makes the soil contour unstable and increases the risk of damage.

“So when we saw it here earlier, it was clear that this sheet pile wall would not be strong enough to hold when there are buildings on top of it, because the soil contour movement will definitely shift and be unstable,” she clarified.

“We will tidy it up and plant Tabebuya trees here as a replacement,” said Iin.

Regarding emergency handling of the landslide, Angke River Watcher from BBWSCC, Wastono, stated that his team, along with the West Jakarta SDA Sub-Department, would soon install river stone gabions to prevent follow-up landslides.

“For the gabion work itself, it depends on the availability of materials like stones and others. So the estimate will go back to the SDA colleagues collaborating with BBWSCC for the implementation,” said Wastono.

Iin targeted the gabion installation to be completed within a week, given the high flood risk amid current extreme weather conditions.

After the emergency handling is completed, permanent embankment repairs will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works as part of the central government.

“It will be repaired with another embankment, insyaallah the repairs will be followed up by the PJSA Satker (Water Network Implementation Unit),” said Wastono.

Observations at the site on Thursday (26/3/2026) showed that the concrete embankment wall (sheet pile), approximately 15 metres long, had collapsed and fallen into the river flow.

Soil material at the river’s edge was also eroded, leaving a steep cliff and exposing rocks and tree trunks that hold the soil.