Govt to revise reconstruction plan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Due to Monday's large earthquake near the Nias and Simeuleu islands, the government will revise the blueprint it has drafted for the post-tsunami reconstruction in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra.

State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday that her office would immediately send a team to Nias within the week, to assess the damage from the calamities.

"Apart from assessing the losses, the team will also identify the funds needed for additional rehabilitation and reconstruction, which will then be included in the revision of the blueprint," she said.

Mulyani said could not make an estimation of the likely cost of the damage. "From what I have been told, at least 12 districts in Nias were severely damaged by the quake," she said.

She explained that a revision of the blueprint was still possible because it had not yet been finalized.

"The presidential decree for the blueprint has not been signed and issued yet, so the Nias area is still open for revision," she said.

Following the end of the emergency response and rehabilitation period in Aceh, the government drafted a blueprint for the ensuing reconstruction period. It presented the blueprint to the Acehnese people last Saturday, opening it up for any suggestions.

The reconstruction period is expected to start in April and to be completed in the next five years, requiring funds of up to Rp 41.4 trillion (US$4.35 billion).

An earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale hit Nias and Simeuleu islands late on Monday, only 320 kilometers away from the epicenter of last year's 9.0-magnitude tsunami-generating earthquake.

The quake, while it did not create a tsunami, damaged infrastructure on both islands and is estimated to have claimed about 1,000 lives.

Mulyani said the government had received extra offers of aid for the Nias quake from several foreign countries, including the U.S., Australia, Germany and Japan.

"Japan, for example, has discussed with us several emergency relief activities they would like to carry out," she said. "Many countries have also offered their aid through the United Nations agencies."