City to get new floodgates

JAKARTA: The central government plans to build two new floodgates in Jakarta to control the flow of the Ciliwung- Cisadane River running through the capital and often blamed for annual flooding, an official said on Thursday.

The director general for water resources at the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure, Mochamad Basuki Hadimoeljono, said the construction of the two floodgates in Ciawi and Genteng would begin next year.

"The floodgates will be able to temporarily hold back the flooding, because it is still impossible to free Jakarta from flooding," he said as quoted by Tempo News Room. He added that the project was expected to be completed within two years.

Basuki said existing floodgates and the two new ones would only complement the West Flood Canal and the East Flood Canal, which are now under construction. -- JP