From the Command Centre of the PRR Task Force: Breaking Down Sectoral Barriers for Accelerated Sumatra Recovery
Large screens illuminate the Command Centre on the second floor of Building B of the Ministry of Home Affairs in central Jakarta. Refugee data, maps of affected areas, and infrastructure development progress alternate across the displays. From this room, the coordinated operations of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Acceleration Task Force (Satgas PRR) are controlled, and from here the post-flood recovery progress across Sumatra is monitored and coordinated.
Such briefings appear routinely whenever the Task Force holds coordination meetings, conducted in person, online, or in hybrid format. In this room, representatives from ministries and agencies alongside regional governments discuss and deliberate to ensure rehabilitation and reconstruction processes align with field realities.
“Satgas PRR holds update meetings every day to monitor the data on recovery indicators at the National Command Post,” said Police Inspector General Wahyu Bintono, appointed as Head of the National Command Post for Satgas PRR.
The results of daily meetings are documented in daily reports covering seven recovery indicators, which are sent daily to the Task Force Commander and all Deputy Commanders.
“These daily meetings monitor the work and programmes implemented by ministries and agencies, so that Sumatra’s recovery is connected to real needs and challenges in the field and accelerated with constantly updated data,” continued the National Command Post Head, who is also Special Staff to the Home Affairs Minister.
This dynamic was evident during the Task Force’s daily coordination meeting held in hybrid format on Thursday, 12 March 2026, bringing together ministry and agency representatives with regional secretaries from provinces and affected districts and cities in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
Through this forum, regional governments presented factual conditions in their respective areas, whilst ministries and agencies reported on the progress of rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes underway and planned. This information exchange served as the basis for adjusting urgent response measures across various sectors.
The meeting also demonstrated that no single ministry or agency can work in isolation. Sometimes a programme depends on data from other institutions. For example, the Ministry of Public Works confirmed the readiness to construct temporary shelters (huntara).
However, to proceed with permanent housing construction (huntap), the ministry is awaiting a Master Plan (Renduk) being prepared by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas). This document will be the primary reference for permanent housing construction in disaster-safe zones and the direction of medium-term recovery in affected areas.
Cross-sectoral coordination is also evident in the energy sector. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is preparing support for new electricity installation in affected areas. Its implementation, specifically determining priority locations, still requires further coordination with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) based on updated data from regional governments.
In higher education, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology is collecting data on affected students in the three provinces. This data is then synchronised with Bappenas to formulate educational policy support for learners. Coordination between these two agencies ensures recovery targets not only physical infrastructure but also educational sustainability and human resources in affected areas.
Reports from regional governments show that some public services have resumed, although several facilities remain in recovery stages. Some areas reported that teaching and learning activities have resumed, though in some locations these occur in tents due to school building damage.
Creating a Meeting Point
Coordination is crucial as this philosophy is enshrined in three primary recovery guidelines by Satgas PRR. First is the State Remains Present, meaning handling does not cease at the emergency phase; the state continues to support residents until recovery is complete. Second, Recovery Requires Process, meaning recovery is conducted in stages to ensure safety and sustainability, with progress communicated periodically.
The third guideline is Rise Together, Not Alone. Through this message, all ministry and agency elements in Satgas PRR understand that recovery will progress more strongly when carried out together by residents, local communities, and government.
This principle forms the foundation enabling various administrative obstacles to be quickly resolved through real-time information exchange during coordination meetings. Such synchronisation helps ensure recovery programmes run in harmony and minimises the potential for overlapping assistance.
The core value of this coordination approach is creating a meeting point between policies at the national level and actual needs at the regional level. Reports from regional secretaries about provincial roads still under construction in East Aceh, or temporary bridges in Central Aceh, provide important input for ministries and agencies to adjust their field priorities.
The Thursday 12 March meeting was chaired by Vice Secretary of Satgas PRR Air Marshal Mohammad Nurdin, accompanied by National Command Post Head Police Inspector General Wahyu Bintono and Deputy Operational Chief Brigadier General Dody M. Taufik.
The meeting was attended by 15 representatives from ministries and agencies, including Bappenas, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Ministry of Public Works, and Ministry of Transportation.
Twenty-six regional government representatives also participated online, including the Regional Secretaries of Aceh Province, North Sumatra Province, West Sumatra Province, and several district and city secretaries from affected areas such as Pidie and Lhokseumawe.