Sabo Dam Construction Accelerated to Prevent Threat of Debris Wood in Aceh

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Ministry of Public Works (PU) has begun accelerating the construction of sabo dams in disaster-affected areas on the island of Sumatra.

This follows the discovery of a large amount of timber material along the national road towards Gayo Lues, which has the potential to be carried by the current to downstream areas.

Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo stated that the timber material is feared to flow back to areas such as Aceh Tamiang if not immediately addressed through sediment control from upstream regions.

“I saw that on the national road towards Gayo Lues there is still a lot of wood. I’m afraid this will flow down to Tamiang again. So, the Ministry of Public Works has started working on the sabo dam project even though it shouldn’t have begun yet,” said Dody, in a press release on Saturday (18/4/2026).

In general, the Ministry of Public Works has recorded significant progress in handling post-disaster infrastructure in Sumatra.

On the local road network, out of a total of 2,421 affected road sections, 2,277 sections or about 94 percent have been reopened.

Meanwhile, 792 bridges out of a total of 1,181 units or about 67 percent have resumed operations.

Dody assured that the condition of national roads and bridges generally poses no significant issues.

Although landslides occurred at several points, they were handled quickly.

“If there are no problems with national roads and bridges. There were landslides, but we could resolve them in less than 24 hours,” he added.

Nevertheless, special attention is still focused on Aceh Province, which faces challenges in the form of high rainfall and mud deposits in downstream areas.

“The progress in Aceh, the main problem is actually mud and it’s still raining today. With conditions like this, the work must be accelerated,” said Dody.

In addition to sabo dam construction, the Ministry of Public Works is also strengthening coordination with local governments and the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in implementing weather modification.

Efforts to accelerate the cleaning of residential areas are also being carried out through labour-intensive programmes, particularly in affected areas such as Pidie Jaya and Aceh Tamiang.