Missing the Target! Ciliwung Normalisation Postponed to 2029
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Coordinating Minister (Menko) for Infrastructure and Regional Development (IPK) Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) has spotlighted the condition of the banks of the Ciliwung River, which remain littered with rubbish.
According to him, the rubbish issue is one of the causes of suboptimal water flow and worsens flooding in Jakarta.
AHY stated that addressing Jakarta’s flooding cannot be done partially but must be from upstream to downstream.
“If earlier we saw just the left and right in 5 kilometres, it’s clear that there is rubbish on both sides. If rubbish is disposed of carelessly, blockages will certainly occur. No matter how many diversion channels we build, Madam Deputy Minister, it will be difficult to channel fast-flowing water. Especially if the discharge is also high,” said AHY during an inspection of the Ciliwung River with Deputy Minister (Wamen) of Public Works (PU) Diana Kusumastuti on Thursday (07/05/2026).
AHY said that the normalisation of the 33-kilometre river has currently reached 52 percent, or 17 kilometres have been completed.
“The remaining 16 kilometres, I hope can be carried out progressively, hopefully without any widening obstacles,” said AHY.
AHY stated that based on data from the Ciliwung-Cisadane River Basin Organisation (BBWS), the Ciliwung River normalisation was initially targeted for completion in 2027. However, due to various obstacles, the completion has been postponed until 2029.
Meanwhile, due to silting, dredging of river sedimentation by 20 to 50 centimetres is required. Then, the release of riverbank land from illegal structures is needed.
“Earlier, the width was approximately 15-25 metres, whereas it only holds about 200 cubic metres per second. This is 35-50 metres wide so it can hold 470 cubic metres per second, we widen it, how can we then work together with everyone, including monitoring heavy equipment that can help speed up the normalisation efforts,” he said.
Diana Kusumastuti said that one of the obstacles causing the delay in the Ciliwung River normalisation target is land acquisition by the Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemprov).
However, the Ministry of PU and Pemprov Jakarta have set a new target for the land acquisition of the riverbanks along 16 kilometres to be completed in 2027.
Previously, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung stated that Pemprov Jakarta has prepared a budget of Rp 232 billion for land acquisition for the Ciliwung River normalisation in two sub-districts.