Ciliwung-Cisadane tunnel to go ahead: Minister

Ciliwung-Cisadane tunnel to go ahead: Minister

JAKARTA (JP): The construction of a one-kilometer tunnel
connecting the upstream sections of Ciliwung River and Cisadane
River in Bogor, West Java, will proceed as scheduled despite the
current monetary crisis, according to the Ministry of Public
Works.

The head of the Ciliwung and Cisadane Rivers Improvement
Project, Siswoko, said the tunnel, which will be located 20
meters below the ground, was considered one of the government's
top priorities.

"The project is needed to prevent overflowing of Ciliwung
River, which usually inundates Greater Jakarta with water,"
Siswoko told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

An Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) loan, which has
already been received by Siswoko's office, will be used to fund
the tunnel project. He declined to disclose the value of the
loan.

"The amount is not important," he said. "The most important
matter is that we will go ahead with the project."

Funds for the project can only be accounted for after its
design is completed, he said.

Under the plan, the tunnel will have a diameter of eight
meters. Running underneath Bogor, the tunnel would help divert
some of Ciliwung's water flow to Cisadane.

Siswoko said that the ministry was still in the
process of selecting consultants to finalize the project's
design. It will require both local and foreign consultants.

He said that the project's feasibility study was completed in
March and its design was expected to be finalized within 12
months.

"After completing the design, we hope that construction could
be started in mid 1999 and finished within three years," Siswoko
said.

The tunnel is part of the 1973 Western Flood Control Project
package designed to protect the western part of the city from a
repetition of last year's floods, which claimed at least 30 lives
and caused at least Rp 90 billion (US$30.1 million) in damage.

The floods have emphasized the fragile state of Ciliwung River
and the poor condition of some canals along the western flood
control area.

No dispute

Unlike other projects, the tunnel's construction would spark
no social unrest from local people because there are no land
disputes.

According to the ministry's director general of water
resources, Soeparmono, the flood control program for Jakarta did
have to deal with the dilemma of land appropriation.

The ministry had to demolish more than 5,000 homes, mostly
shacks, before starting the project, which included river bank
improvements, Siswoko said.

Loans and other foreign funding did not include compensation
for the residents, he said.

According to Siswoko, most flood control projects depend on
government funds and foreign loans. Private investors were rarely
interested in funding such unprofitable projects.

"(These projects) are constructed purely for the benefit of
the public," Siswoko said. "So, it's difficult to invite private
investors into such a project." (ste)