Brantas Abipraya Accelerates Bulango Ulu Dam for Food Security

PT Brantas Abipraya (Persero), an Indonesian state-owned construction company, is accelerating the completion of the Bulango Ulu Dam in Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo, to support food security, water supply, and the provision of new renewable energy. “By expediting its completion, we hope this dam can increase agricultural productivity, guarantee water availability, support new renewable energy, and drive economic growth for the people of Gorontalo,” said Brantas Abipraya Corporate Secretary Dian Sovana in an official statement received in Jakarta on Friday. The Bulango Ulu Dam is one of the National Strategic Projects that forms an important part of strengthening national food security. Currently, the construction process has reached 94.99 per cent, she added. The Bulango Ulu Dam has a storage capacity of 140.95 million cubic metres with an effective volume of 58.61 million cubic metres. Once operational, according to her, the dam will irrigate approximately 4,950 hectares of agricultural land through the Alale, Lomaya, and Pilohayanga Irrigation Areas, thereby supporting increased productivity in Gorontalo’s agricultural sector. Furthermore, she said the dam will also provide 2.2 cubic metres per second of raw water for household and industrial needs. Beyond supporting the food sector, the presence of the Bulango Ulu Dam is also projected to reduce flood risk in the downstream area of the Bolango River by more than 80 per cent, while simultaneously generating environmentally friendly electricity through a Micro-Hydro Power Plant with a capacity of 4.96 Megawatts. The dam’s inundation area also has the potential to be developed into a tourist destination and water sports centre that can drive the local economy. From a technical perspective, the project is built using rockfill dam with vertical core technology, equipped with a spillway, diversion tunnel, and high-standard hydromechanical facilities. She said the construction innovation applied even succeeded in setting a MURI Record for the Free Over Flow Elevated type spillway tunnel with the highest and widest slope in Indonesia. Dian added that the success of infrastructure development is not only measured by physical aspects, but also by the governance applied during the construction process. “We built the Bulango Ulu Dam by prioritising integrity, sustainability, and long-term benefits for the community and the environment,” she said.