Govt renovates Bekasi sluice

BEKASI: The administration has started the renovation of the crucial Kali Bekasi sluice gates in a last second bid to mitigate flooding in Jakarta, an official said on Wednesday.

Technical assistance for the Citarum Water Control Project, Subady, said that one of the three gates, which also regulates the amount of water that flows through much of Jakarta was severely corroded and no longer working well.

"If the water volume and flow increase during the rainy season, I'm sure the gates will collapse and completely inundate several Bekasi districts and much of Jakarta," he was quoted as saying by Tempointeraktif.com.

The project to modernize the sluice gate may be finished by the end of this month and cost the central government a total of Rp 10 billion (US$1.1 million). -- JP