Govt to go ahead with reservoir construction

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Indramayu, West Java

A senior government official said on Friday that the central government would build a large dam in Sumedang regency, called Jatigede dam, which would hopefully put an end to prolonged drought and flooding along Java's northern coast.

"The construction of the dam is the only solution to end these problems," said Basuki, the director general of Water Resources at the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure.

Basuki was visiting Indramayu regency, which has been experiencing major floods. Basuki, who was accompanied by legislators Enggartiasto Lukita and Achmad Zahidin, handed over government aid to flood victims.

Basuki said the House of Representative supported the plan to build the dam.

Basuki explained that construction of the dam was important, owing that the absence of dams, as well as illegal logging, was the main cause of flooding along the north coast.

Flooding occurs due to the lack of dams to hold all the rainwater, he said. The dam could also store water from Cimanuk River, which flows through the regency.

The dam will be able to hold 650 million cubic meters of water and supply water to 90,000 hectares of paddy fields in the area, including in Indramayu, Cirebon, Majalengka, Subang and Sumedang regencies.

He said the construction of Jatigede dam would cost the state Rp 600 billion and take five years to complete. At least 6,000 hectares of land will be needed for the dam. The acquisition of land owned by some 5,000 families in the area is not included in the figure. The government is currently trying to persuade the families to leave the area.

Legislator Enggartiasto Lukita expressed regret that some families had rejected the government's compensation offer and were demanding more.

Indramayu and Cirebon regents have also expressed support for the construction of the dam, saying it could help overcome drought and flood problems in the two regencies.

Indramayu is one regency along the north coast that has been hit by flooding this year. Last week floodwater inundated 106 subdistricts. Three people were killed in the flooding and 23,000 hectares of paddy fields were submerged.

Frequent flooding along the north coastal also disrupts traffic along the northern coast highway, which connects Jakarta to other provinces on Java island.

Besides Jatigede dam, the central government also plans to build Cilalanang dam in Indramayu regency. Basuki said the central government had earmarked Rp 30 billion for the construction of the dam.