Public must be told of delay on eastern canal

JAKARTA (JP): Officials must tell the public if they will delay the long-awaited eastern canal project, the spokesman for the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) said yesterday.

Lukman F. Mokoginta said the administration should be transparent and informative about any projects.

Many people, whose property would be affected by the 28- kilometer eastern canal project, were anxious to know about the continuation of the project and their possible evacuation.

"Don't let them wait unnecessarily," Lukman said.

The head of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers improvement project under the Ministry of Public Works, Siswoko, said Wednesday the Ministry and the municipality were still re- evaluating whether the project, first planned in 1973, would continue or not.

In 1973, the government planned to build the western flood canal for the western flood control system and the eastern flood canal to protect the east of the city from worse flooding.

Referring to recent protests on land appropriation, Siswoko said yesterday that the re-evaluation was intended to reduce the cost and social impact.

Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar had said earlier the government halted the project for financial reasons.

"The project needed some Rp 1 trillion (US$417.54) just for land appropriation," he added.

Loans and other foreign funding did not include compensation for relocating residents.

Tunnel

The possible delay of the eastern canal project was revealed by Siswoko Thursday who said that next year the administration might start the construction of a 20-meter deep tunnel connecting the Ciliwung river in Jakarta and the Cisadane river in Bogor, West Java.

The one-kilometer tunnel, which would be a part of the western flood control system, is believed unlikely to spark social unrest caused by land appropriation.

The tunnel project was given priority after last year's flood killed at least 30 people and led to losses of at least Rp 90 billion. The floods were blamed on several factors, including the uncompleted state of the eastern canal. The canal led to the overflow of the Cipinang river.

Yesterday, Lukman urged the municipality to include the eastern flood canal plan, or an alternative plan, in the new urban plan for the 1985-2005 period, now under review.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said the review was needed because the administration realized the current plan was no longer appropriate given Jakarta's rapid development.

The deputy governor for economic and development affairs, Tb. M. Rais, said the review was needed to keep abreast of development in the future.

He said the new plans would take the city's flood conditions into account and it would be dangerous not to match city planning with the city's water condition.

The water condition in the city has worsened because of development and the only way to cope with the problem is bringing environmental conditions into the equation, he said. (ste)