Jakarta seeks money in wake of floods for canal project

Jakarta seeks money in wake of floods for canal project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday that the clearance of
land for the East Flood Canal project should be completed this
year although the fund allocation for the project, which was
earlier promised by the central government, was still unclear.

"We should complete the land clearance this year. We hope the
construction could start next year," Sutiyoso told reporters at
the City Hall.

The development of the 23-kilometer canal will apparently
require some Rp 12 trillion (US$1.2 billion), including Rp 1.3
trillion for the 230 hectares of land that must be purchased and
cleared.

The governor said the funding for the project would be partly
derived from the city's Rp 505 billion emergency fund this year,
but he hoped the central government would also contribute to the
financing.

He said that his administration would soon send a letter to
the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure to ask for
its commitment to finance the project.

"We will formally request a commitment from the Ministry of
Settlement and Regional Infrastructure in a letter, so that it's
not just talk," Sutiyoso said.

Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno
earlier promised to help finance the project, but the ministry's
commitment was later reported to be unclear.

During a meeting at City Hall last week, Soenarno claimed that
as much as Rp 16 trillion was needed to finance the canal as well
as "the normalization program of rivers" to reduce flooding.

The City Council has agreed in principle with the
administration's proposal to use the emergency fund for the
project.

Responding to a call from observers that the central
government should not disburse any funds for the project before
it was clearly planned, Sutiyoso claimed that his administration
had made a complete plan for the canal.

He said it had set up a special team led by Deputy Governor
for Development Affairs Budihardjo Sukmadi to make a development
plan of the canal.

The central government hired an Amsterdam-based consulting
group, Nedeco, in 1976 to design the canal, but it was never
acted upon. It remains unclear whether the city would again seek
advice from Nedeco.