Flood canal construction still uncertain: Minister

Flood canal construction still uncertain: Minister

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The construction of the East Flood Canal could be delayed
indefinitely as the central government reiterated on Tuesday that
it had not found the funds necessary to construct the 23-
kilometer canal expected to resolve major flooding in the city.

Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno
said the Japanese government last year offered a soft loan to
finance the project, which would cost Rp 4.5 trillion.

"We hope that talks on the loan will commence as soon as
possible," the minister told the press after a meeting
involving officials from the central government, Jakarta, and the
provinces of West Java and Banten.

Soenarno also said that there was an agreement with Japan to
construct a canal to connect the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers in
Bogor. However, the project failed to materialize due to the
objections of Tangerang residents, as they feared that the canal
would only bring the floods from Jakarta to Tangerang.

The minister said that he had asked the Japanese government to
shift the funds from the canal project towards the construction
of the East Flood Canal, but this move has not been agreed upon.

The central government's commitment to constructing the East
Flood Canal was expressed early last year when over 300,000
people in the city were affected by huge floods.

The meeting also revealed that so far, no significant efforts
had been taken by the West Java administration to repair the
environmental damages in the hilly areas of Puncak, Bogor and
Cianjur, where the city's major rivers originate, pending the
issuance of a presidential decree.

Meanwhile, Governor Sutiyoso stressed the need for an
immediate realization of the East Flood Canal, as it was the only
way to resolve the flood problems of the city.

Sutiyoso failed to launch the construction of the canal during
Jakarta's 475th anniversary on June 22 last year, because of the
lack of funds.

So far, the administration has only been able to clear 15 of
the total 250 hectares of land allocated towards the project.
Together with the 14-kilometer West Flood Canal, the East Flood
Canal has been designed to create a semicircular waterway which
will accommodate runoff from 13 rivers in the city.

The East Flood Canal project would cost about Rp 4.5 trillion.
Of this amount, about Rp 2 trillion will be used to clear the
land and another Rp 2.5 trillion will be used for the actual
construction of the canal.

The cost of the project is part of the Rp 20 trillion in funds
needed to resolve the flooding for 10 years, and the funds are
expected from the central government and related regional
administrations.

In its entirety, the project involves the improvement of
environmental damage in the Puncak area, as well as the 13 city
rivers, including resettlement of squatters living along the
river banks.

Soenarno said that based on the initial plan, from the total
funds of Rp 20 trillion, some Rp 765 billion was expected to be
disbursed in 2002, Rp 4.34 trillion in 2003 and the remainder
would be used for projects expected to be completed by 2012.