East flood canal project depends on CGI loan

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The construction of the East Flood Canal might be postponed indefinitely as it is wholly dependent on a loan from the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), a group of foreign donors.

Adi Sarwoko Soeronegoro, a water resource director at the Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Ministry, said that the government would discuss the funding with the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) as a donor institution under the CGI in July.

"The result of the meeting will be further discussed in the November meeting of the CGI," Sarwoko told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The project, which is expected to solve the city's flood problems, was scheduled to be officially inaugurated by Governor Sutiyoso on June 22, in conjunction with the city's 475th anniversary. But because the central government has not yet disbursed its financial share to the project, the city had to postpone it.

Sarwoko said that the central government had planned to secure a loan from CGI to finance the project, which will cost Rp 4.9 trillion (over US$500 million).

The city administration also has its share to finance the project but it has not yet reached an agreement with the central government over how much it should share in the burden.

With the financial glitches, it is unlikely that the project will be started this year. There is no guarantee that the JBIC would make a commitment to finance the project. If it agrees, it is also unlikely that the disbursement will take place this year.

Head of the Public Works Agency IGKG Suena said that the city administration only would be responsible for 10 percent of the total Rp 4.9 trillion. While Sarwoko said the central government would only provide Rp 2.9 trillion for physical construction.

The project's land clearance, which may cost Rp 2 trillion -- to pay compensation for those who now own property on the canal site -- will be financed by the city administration. Sarwoko argued that the local administration should shoulder more of the burden to the project as it had adequate funding since the regional autonomy era began.

Suena said that only 15 hectares of the total 250 hectares of land for the project had been cleared. This year, the city administration only allocated Rp 22 billion for the canal project.

The 23-kilometer East Flood Canal is part of the government's plan to build a half-circle-shaped canal along the northern and eastern parts of the city that will function as a massive drain for the city's 13 rivers before emptying into the Java Sea off North Jakarta.

The other canal is the 14-kilometer long West Flood Canal constructed in 1924 by the Dutch colonial government. That canal needs to be upgraded and properly maintained as it has been silting up in recent years due to neglect.

Sarwoko admitted development of the East Flood Canal would significantly ease the flooding here. He said that the canal could reroute some 400 cubic meters per second from the rivers, including the Cipinang, Sunter, Jati Kramat, Cakung, and Manggarai.

The floods in January and February which covered some one third of the city claimed some 30 lives and caused some Rp 10 trillion in financial losses.

Yayat Supriatna, an urban planner from Trisakti University said that the people, particularly the non-governmental organizations should closely monitor the project, which would be financed by foreign loans.

Different from state budget funds, he added, the use of loans would lack some of the checks and balances from the House of Representatives.

"Therefore, people should monitor the development of the project to minimize inefficient use of the money," he added.