Nambo selected as site of new dump for Jakarta

Theresia Sufa and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Bogor/Jakarta

Nambo village in Bogor regency will become one of three planned dumps established to solve the garbage problem in Greater Jakarta, which includes Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.

"A recent study made by the Jabodetabek (Greater Jakarta) Waste Management Cooperation (JWMC) has selected the area in Nambo village as one of the most feasible places for a dump," the Jakarta Urban Infrastructure Development Bureau head Mochamad Tauchid Tjakra Amidjaja said on Friday at City Hall.

JWMC is a collaborative drive initiated by the city administrations in Greater Jakarta to handle garbage collection and disposal, which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works.

The study made by JWMC was presented during a meeting at the Office of the State Minister of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) recently.

"We plan to develop three dumps, including one in West Jakarta and East Jakarta. But, so far, Nambo is the most prepared," Tauchid asserted.

Secretary of Commission A overseeing legal and administrative affairs with the Bogor regental administration, Lulu Azhari Lucky, confirmed Tauchid's statement, adding that the dump would use the sanitary landfill technology, as is applied at the troubled Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi.

According to him, the planned dump will cover between 50 hectares and 100 hectares.

He emphasized that the conversion of forest area of Nambo village was in line with the Bogor Master Plan No. 17/2002, which stipulates Nambo as a location for a dump.

No details were available on the other locations designated as dumps in the east and west of Jakarta.

But, Banten deputy governor Ratu Atut Chosiah announced mid- last year that her administration was also prepared to lease some land in Bojong Menteng, Jawilan subdistrict in the capital of Banten, Serang, to JWMC as a waste treatment facility for Jakarta and Tangerang.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso welcomed the plan, stressing that cooperation among the city administrations in Greater Jakarta to tackle garbage problem was crucial.

"Garbage is a problem that has become a major headache every year besides flooding and clean water supply," he said.

In the last four years, Jakarta has continued to experience garbage disposal problems due to the on-and-off operation of the Bantar Gebang dump amid strong opposition from locals. People around the dump have complained of a deterioration in the quality of the environment, which has adversely affected their health.

The Jakarta administration's plan along with private company PT Wira Guna Sejahtera and the Bogor regental administration to develop a waste treatment plant in Bojong, Bogor, has also hit a serious snag since residents reject the presence of the plant.

Jakarta produces 6,000 tons of waste a day.