Canal construction still hampered by land clearance
Canal construction still hampered by land clearance
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Recent floods in Jakarta that claimed six lives should serve as a
warning for the city administration to build the East Flood Canal
as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the planned project has
been delayed as the administration lacks the funds for land
clearance for the canal.
Urban planning expert Ahmad "Puput" Safrudin said on Wednesday
that if the canal construction was not possible in the near
future, then the city administration must look for alternative
solutions.
"If the administration wants a total or even radical solution,
it must rehabilitate all mangrove forests on Jakarta's northern
coast. Upmarket residences have been constructed in the area. The
administration must also be stern when it clears the city's
riverbanks from squatters," he said.
Puput was referring to Pantai Indah Kapuk luxury housing
complex in North Jakarta, the construction of which was blamed
for the floods that hit the capital in early 2002, as much of the
mangrove forest in the area was cleared.
The 2002 floods claimed at least 30 lives and forced 300,000
to flee their homes. The floods also obstructed the nearby toll
road connecting the city with Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport, causing many airlines to cancel their flights.
The administration has planned to build the East Flood Canal
to help the existing West Flood Canal control overflowing water
from 13 rivers in Jakarta.
However, the project was hampered by the city's inability to
pay for the clearance of 400 hectares of land for the 23.5-
kilometer-long, 100-meter-wide and five-meter-deep canal
stretching from Cipinang in East Jakarta to Marunda in North
Jakarta.
"Until now, we have only managed to clear 5 percent of the
land required for the project," said Jakarta Public Works Agency
head Fodly Misbach. "That land is in Marunda, Rorotan and Cakung
Timur subdistricts in North Jakarta," he added.
The canal, which was designed by the Netherlands Engineering
Consultants (Nedeco) in 1973, and the West Flood Canal, built by
the Dutch in 1924, are planned to form a half-circle around the
city.
Fodly said the administration refers to the taxable value of
property (NJOP) for land prices but residents have been demanding
higher prices.
"Residents in Duren Sawit subdistrict, East Jakarta, demanded
Rp 2 million (US$238) per square meter but the price according to
the NJOP is only half of this," he said.
The administration has allocated Rp 150 billion this year for
the land clearance, which requires RP 2.47 trillion in total.
Last year, it allocated Rp 100 billion. The government will
provide Rp 2.527 trillion, including a loan from the Japan Bank
for International Cooperation (JBIC), for the construction of the
project.
The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology's
(BPPT) hydrologist, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, suggested the
administration build "absorption dams" in water catchment areas
to support the flood canal.
"Both canals would only be able to absorb up to 80 percent of
the overflowing water from rivers," he said, adding that the dams
would also function to preserve the city's underground water
resources.
The agency will work with the Office of the State Minister of
Research and Technology, the University of Indonesia (UI) and the
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) to build an absorption dam
in Depok this year. If successful, the project would be
acknowledged by the Ministry of Settlement and Infrastructure as
a preventive measure and proposed to the administration as a
possible solution to flooding as well.