Flooding in West Jakarta's Kembangan Worsens, Residents Demand Improvements to Drainage Near Hotel Project

Residents of RW 01 in South Kembangan, West Jakarta, have submitted several demands to the West Jakarta City Government and the hotel project on South Kembangan Raya Road. They are protesting after being affected by increasingly severe flooding in the residential area and Kembangan Outer Ring Road on Tuesday (5/5/2026). Residents suspect that the flooding submerging their homes is one impact of the hotel construction activities in the area. “Actually, there has been flooding here for a long time. But in the past, it was annual or every five years. Now, lately, the flooding has become frequent and regular. Just yesterday, the flood reached about 1 metre,” said Abdul when met by Kompas.com at the location on Thursday (14/5/2026). According to him, there are residential areas in other RTs where the flooding is worse but recedes more quickly. Meanwhile, the flooding in RT 01’s residential area can last more than a day even in hot weather. According to Abdul, the loss of water absorption areas, previously empty land and paddy fields spanning 15 hectares, is one of the main triggers. “In the past, the area of this project was like paddy fields, places to hold and absorb water. With the construction of the project, the water that used to flow and seep there has decreased, so it overflows to the residents,” said Abdul. Nevertheless, he still appreciates the developers’ good intentions in creating an artificial water retention pond within the project area. “Now, inside it, there is also a water retention area of about 2 hectares with a depth of 12 metres. I appreciate that they are still thinking about the residents wisely. But even so, it’s still limited; when it’s full, it will definitely overflow and flood the residents because it’s not as large as before,” he explained. Therefore, RT 01 residents have submitted three main demands to the developers and the West Jakarta City Government. “The first is to accelerate the municipal drainage construction project so there is no flooding. Then, do not use our residential access for the project to avoid disruption,” said Abdul. Additionally, local residents are requesting that, once the hotel is completed, they be recruited as workers at the hotel.