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)