Govt finalizing post-tsunami reconstruction plan

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government hopes to finish within a week its final draft of the reconstruction blueprint for the tsunami-stricken Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, before discussing it further with the House of Representatives, a senior economics minister said.

State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday that the government still needed to consider several aspects of the blueprint, particularly in determining its legal basis, fine tuning spatial planning in the areas concerned, and deciding which infrastructure projects in the blueprint would be prioritized.

Sri Mulyani was supposed to hold a consultative meeting with the House of Representatives' finance commission to present the government's final draft of the blueprint.

"The Commission has, however, decided to adjourn the meeting to give us more time in preparing the final draft," she said.

The government plans to begin the reconstruction phase in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra on March 26. The cost is expected to reach up to Rp 10 trillion for this year alone, and Rp 45 trillion (US$4.8 billion) over the next five years.

On the legal aspects of the blueprint, Sri Mulyani said the government was still deciding on whether the blueprint would be issued in the form of a Presidential Decree or a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perpu), as previously suggested.

"This is crucial for providing a specific legal basis during the implementation stage," she said. "The final decision on the matter will, however, be consulted with the House when we present the final draft of the blueprint to them."

The government had planned to set up a special Aceh Authority (BOA) to manage and carry out the reconstruction phase.

The House' approval for the blueprint, Sri added, was also important as the reconstruction phase would be financed out of the state budget.

"Donor funds in grants and soft loans, and their disbursement, will mean a revision of the budget revenue and expenditure accounts, which will also need the House's approval," she said.

In the meantime, the government has commenced work on minor infrastructure projects, including constructing barracks for the displaced, repairing lightly damaged roads, and reestablishing education and health services during the emergency response period and the reconstruction phase.

"We will continue to focus on such rehabilitation projects so that people in the area can get back to normal and restart their daily activities," she said.

Elsewhere, Minister of Public Works Djoko Kirmanto told the House's Commission V for public works, housing, transportation and telecommunications that his ministry was still working with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) on drafting the blueprint.

Djoko explained that his ministry still needed Rp 590 billion to clean up rubble and debris, Rp 660 billion for the construction of 1,548 barracks for the displaced, and Rp 100 billion for support facilities for the rehabilitation programs.