Nagan Raya Regency collaborates with investors to normalise Tripa River flow

Flooding in Tripa is a recurring issue, occurring up to twice a year. Relying on the regional budget, we cannot manage it because the costs are extremely high.

Nagan Raya (ANTARA) - The Nagan Raya Regency Government in Aceh is collaborating with investors as an effort to normalise the flow of the Tripa River (Krueng Tripa), to address the annual flooding problem that frequently affects Darul Makmur Sub-district and Tripa Makmur Sub-district.

“Considering the large budget required, the local government has chosen a cooperation scheme with the private sector or investors,” said the Regent of Nagan Raya, Aceh, Teuku Raja Keumangan, to reporters on Thursday.

He stated that this plan had previously been consulted with the Flood Recovery Task Force at the central level. This step was taken because the authority for managing the river lies with the central government and is closely related to disaster mitigation.

“The flooding in Tripa is a regular occurrence, up to twice a year. If we rely on the regional budget, we cannot afford it because the costs are very high,” he added.

In the cooperation plan, said Teuku Raja Keumangan, the investors will be fully responsible for financing the river normalisation, including the construction of embankments on both the left and right sides of the river.

As compensation, the investors will utilise the river materials found during the construction process.

He said that some land affected by the construction, such as community oil palm plantations or settlements, will be managed through a profit-sharing system.

The Regent emphasised that if the value of the materials obtained exceeds the operational costs (based on the MOU calculation), the proceeds will be shared with the local government to increase regional income.

Following up on the proposal, the Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, as the Chair of the Flood Recovery Task Force, has deployed a central team to directly inspect the conditions of the Tripa River.

“This plan is being thoroughly reviewed with the involvement of the central parties. I hope this can be realised soon because this is the only way out to address the flooding in those two sub-districts,” said Teuku Raja Keumangan.