Land clearance halts flood canal project
Land clearance halts flood canal project
JAKARTA (JP): The plan to construct a flood canal in East
Jakarta will not be realized because of difficulty in
appropriating land for the Rp 1.9 trillion (US$271 million)
project, an official said on Thursday.
The head of the city's public works office, M. Fadli, said the
city administration had only appropriated three of the 230
hectares required for the 23-kilometer canal.
"Forty percent, or about 100 hectares, is still owned by
private developers and government departments, while the
remaining 127 hectares is owned by private individuals," Fadli
said after meeting with Deputy Governor of Social Welfare
Djailani at City Hall.
He said those private developers which owned the land included
Taman Sejahtera, which holds eight hectares, Cakung Indah (five
hectares), Modern Land (2.5 hectares) and Metropolitan
Development, which owns nine hectares.
Among the government departments which own the land are the
Navy with 17.5 hectares, Klender housing developer (23 hectares)
and the Air Force, which owns 0.5 hectares, he said.
He said the city administration did not have the funds to
appropriate the land for the construction of the canal, which was
designed 26 years ago.
Fadli said the purpose of the proposed canal was to reduce the
flood waters which inundate parts of the city each rainy season.
Fadli told Djailani there were 80 flood-prone locations in the
city, lower than the figure given by the city's public order
office, which put the number at 108.
A city councilor said the disparity in the reported number of
flood-prone areas resulted from a difference in the amount of
funding allocated to overcome the flooding.
The councilor, who asked for anonymity, said the public works
office had its own budget for flood prevention, while the public
order office had a separate budget for the same purpose.
"Why can't we have one budget for flood prevention," he asked.
According to data from the public works office, there are nine
flood-prone areas in Central Jakarta, 23 in North Jakarta, 16 in
West Jakarta, 20 in South Jakarta and 12 flood-prone areas in
East Jakarta. (jun)