East flood canal project depends on CGI loan
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.