BMKG Proposes Rp119.09 Billion for Disaster Observation Technology in Sumatra
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has proposed an additional budget allocation of Rp119.09 billion, concentrated specifically on bridging technology observation gaps and rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes following disaster impacts in three provinces on Sumatra Island.
BMKG Principal Secretary Guswanto, during a hearing with House of Representatives Commission V in Jakarta on Wednesday, stated that the three functional priority areas for handling the impacts of hydrometeorological and geological disasters include Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra provinces.
“The sector for fulfilling supporting observation technology and accelerating post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sumatra occupies a crucial position in our spending priority scale mapping,” he said.
Guswanto explained that the budget intervention in these three provinces along Indonesia’s western corridor is an urgent target to restore and reinforce the reliability of the regional early disaster detection data supply chain.
This special Sumatra budget submission is part of a package formulated around four main priority scales prepared by BMKG, totalling Rp757.336 billion, to partially close the backlog gap in the indicative budget ceiling for the 2027 fiscal year.
In addition to the Sumatra mitigation programme, the proposed supplementary package is allocated to meet foreign loan obligations for ongoing projects amounting to Rp361.58 billion, strengthen human resource governance capacity worth Rp166.6 billion, and procure technology facilities or a cloud chamber valued at Rp110 billion.
This proposal was pursued after BMKG received only an indicative 2027 ceiling of Rp2.161 trillion based on a joint letter from the Minister of Finance and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), whereas the agency’s calculated ideal requirement reaches Rp4.648 trillion, triggering a deficit of Rp2.48 trillion.
“We earnestly hope for the full support of the leadership and members of Commission V of the House of Representatives for this additional proposal, so that the reliability of the disaster mitigation system in vulnerable areas such as Sumatra can be optimally restored,” he stated.