BRR vows to speed up Aceh rebuilding
BRR vows to speed up Aceh rebuilding
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The head of the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
Agency (BRR) agency has vowed to speed up reconstruction work,
particularly the building of permanent houses for people left
homeless by the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster.
BRR chairman Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said that so far the agency
had constructed around 6,300 houses, including 870 in Banda Aceh,
the capital of Aceh, which bore the brunt of the tsunami that
left over 220,000 people dead and missing as well as around half
a million people homeless.
The agency, which was set up five months ago, is tasked with
overseeing reconstruction work and managing the billions of
dollars in aid given by foreign donors and the government of
Indonesia. But reconstruction work has been slow due to, among
other things, security problems, particularly in Aceh, which
until recently was the scene of a decades-long insurgency.
But as the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have
signed a peace accord and there are signs that peace is taking
hold, the reconstruction work should be able to gather pace.
Kuntoro said that by December, the agency hoped to have
completed the construction of some 30,000 permanent houses.
"This is quite a tough target for us, but if we don't set a
high target, the BRR will only work more slowly," Kuntoro was
quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday following the signing of a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chinese government,
under which the latter will provide the agency with some US$1.5
million worth of aid.
Kuntoro said that of the $7 billion pledged by foreign donors,
some $4.7 billion had been disbursed to the BRR.
"In addition, funds from the state budget have also been made
available," he said.
Kuntoro acknowledged that there were obstacles to speeding up
the pace of reconstruction work in Aceh, particularly with regard
to the slow process in obtaining land.
"The challenges include the fact that in certain areas, the
provision of land by the local administrations has been slow.
Aside from that, there have been difficulties as regards the
transporting of construction materials due to damaged roads and
ports," he said.
Elsewhere, Kuntoro said that aside from housing, the BRR had
also made progress in the reconstruction of port facilities with
the completion of reconstruction work on ports in Meulaboh and
Ulelheu.
He said that the BRR had also completed the reconstruction of
the highway connecting Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, and the
rebuilding of some 120 schools.
"In the health sector, we're now constructing 70 community
clinics and hospitals," he said.
The BRR has a four-year mandate, which can subsequently be
extended by the government.
Meanwhile, Kuntoro also disclosed on Saturday that the Chinese
government had expressed interest in constructing railroad
facilities in Banda Aceh
He said that the Chinese government had expressed its interest
in this sector to President Susilo Bambang during his visit to
China a few months ago.
"Before the President left for China, he asked me what the BRR
needed for Aceh. I told the President that (Aceh) needed a light
rail system for local transportation that was energy efficient,"
he recalled.