Public must be told of delay on eastern canal
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)