East Flood Canal kicks off with revised design
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri initiated the East Flood Canal construction on Thursday, a project that has been three decades in the waiting, along with four infrastructure projects and 26 private power plants nationwide.
The Rp 4.997 trillion (US$609.4 million) canal project is expected to protect some 25 percent of Jakarta's territory from annual flooding. However, the figure from the Ministry of Settlements and Regional Infrastructure showed that the project will cost Rp 4.124 trillion.
The project, which has been redesigned to meet the public's needs, was finally launched with a loan provided by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), ending the problem of funding sources.
Through a teleconference, Governor Sutiyoso promised the President, who was in Jepara, Central Java, that the project would be completed in 2007, the year he finishes his tenure. The ministry has predicted that the project would be completed in seven years.
"We hope this project will significantly resolve the problem of annual floods in the eastern part of the city and will become a center of development," Sutiyoso said in Ujung Menteng, East Jakarta, at one section of the canal.
Head of the Jakarta Public Works Agency IGKG Suena claimed that areas covering Kebon Nanas, Cipinang, Pulo Mas, Pondok Kelapa, Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta and Kelapa Gading, Sukapura and Rorotan in North Jakarta will be free of floods.
The canal project leader Bambang Sucipto Yuwono said that the project, which begins in Cipinang in East Jakarta and ends in Marunda in North Jakarta, was designed by Netherlands Engineering Consultants (Nedeco) in 1973.
However, the function of the canal will be expanded to not only resolve floods in the city but also for transportation, recreation and as a center for economic growth.
He said that due to its expanded function, the ministry was currently reviewing the design which is expected to be completed late this year.
The new design will alter such aspects as the width and depth of the canal and also its construction in several spots.
Sutiyoso said that based on the original design, the canal would be 100 meters in width and five meters in depth. Since it will also be used for transportation, the width is to be expanded up to 300 meters in several places and the depth should not be less than eight meters.
"The wider part of the canal will be used as boat stops," Bambang said, adding that ideas from the public are welcome during the design process.
Other facilities to be made available along the canal include residences, commercial centers and recreation centers. The canal will also be provided with 18 meter-wide inspection roads along left and right hand sides.
The East Flood Canal together with the existing West Flood Canal will function to take in water from 13 rivers in the city, which originate in the highlands of West Java.
Suena had said earlier that the administration had not found an appropriate scheme to compensate land owners in order to clear the land for the canal construction.