Post-Disaster River and Irrigation Rehabilitation in Sumatra Continues to Be Accelerated

Handling rivers and irrigation networks affected by disasters has become a priority in post-disaster recovery in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. This is being done to protect settlements and productive land, maintain irrigation functions, and reduce the risk of recurring damage from floods and river overflows.

Progress on irrigation and river handling under central government authority reached 34 percent as of Thursday (20/8), while under regional authority it reached 28 percent. These figures serve as a basis for accelerating the remaining work so that the benefits of recovery can be felt more evenly by the public.

Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo emphasised that post-disaster recovery is not solely oriented towards the speed of completing work. Infrastructure rebuilding must also prioritise quality and long-term resilience.

“The recovery process is continuing and showing positive progress. However, our focus is not only on accelerating completion, but also on ensuring the quality of recovery results so that they are more robust, well-targeted, and sustainable,” Dody said in a written statement on Sunday (23/8/2026).

In the irrigation and river sector under central government authority, rehabilitation has been completed on 4 of 14 affected weirs and 13 of 31 affected irrigation areas. Handling has also been carried out on 38 of 94 rivers and 6 of 24 affected estuaries.

Meanwhile, under regional authority, handling has been completed on 3 of 52 affected weirs. Regional governments have also handled 2 irrigation areas, 17 rivers, and 9 of 14 affected estuaries.

Accelerating river and irrigation handling is important because both sectors are directly linked to public safety, agricultural productivity, and the sustainability of economic activity in affected areas. Recovery is being carried out to ensure water flows function again, agricultural land can be irrigated once more, and residential areas have better protection from flood risks.

The Ministry of Public Works will continue to align the implementation of work with conditions and needs on the ground. Handling of weirs, irrigation areas, rivers, and estuaries is expected to strengthen the irrigation system while increasing the resilience of areas against hydrometeorological disaster threats.

The Task Force for the Acceleration of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Satgas PRR) for Post-Disaster Sumatra supports this acceleration through monitoring, evaluation, and coordination with ministries, agencies, and regional governments. Oversight is directed at helping identify bottlenecks and ensuring priority work can be followed up immediately.