Govt assists W. Lampung to recover from landslide

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Krui, Lampung

The government granted on Wednesday Rp 1 billion (US$111,000) in financial assistance to the West Lampung administration to help several villages there recover from a landslide disaster.

Vice President Hamzah Haz said the donation would be used to rebuild destroyed houses, damaged public facilities and other public utilities.

"We hope this assistance can help speed up the recovery of West Lampung from the tragedy," he said at the ceremony in Krui village, Central Pesisir subdistrict, West Lampung regency, Lampung.

Hamzah was accompanied by Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno, Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah and Minister of Cooperatives and Small Medium Enterprises Alimarwan Hanan.

He was welcomed by Lampung Governor Oemarsono and West Lampung regent Erwin Nizar.

The Kuwaiti government also donated US$40,000 to victims of the flooding and landslide disasters.

On Dec. 27, 2002, floods and landslides occurred in several villages in West Lampung , including Krui, Gunung Gemala and Liwa.

The disasters claimed 11 lives and injured 31 others in Gunung Gemala. Floods also inundated 497 houses and damaged public facilities.

The disasters also severed road links between West Lampung and Bengkulu province, forcing the authorities to divert land transportation via the Central Lampung route.

Hamzah went on to say that Lampung had a strategic position as a hub connecting provinces in Sumatra and Java; thus, financial assistance was necessary to help regencies in the province function properly.

"We should prioritize regencies that have a lot of potential," he said. He did not elaborate.

The government also allocated Rp 20 billion to repair roads and bridges destroyed by the disaster.