Tito Targets Completion of Sumatra Post-Disaster Recovery Projects This Year

Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian, who chairs the Task Force for Accelerating Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (PRR), has urged ministries and agencies to speed up rehabilitation and reconstruction in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra. Projects that can be carried out this year are targeted for completion before 31 December 2026.

Tito told the media after attending a ministerial-level coordination meeting on progress in accelerating post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction in the three provinces. The meeting was held at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture in Jakarta on Tuesday (27 October) and chaired by Coordinating Minister Sugiono.

Tito said the disaster response had first gone through an emergency phase focused on evacuations, helping victims and saving lives, followed by an emergency transition period. During the emergency response, President Prabowo Subianto mobilised national resources, including the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police (Polri), the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and local governments.

“During the emergency response, the President also provided an initial additional Rp268 billion in contingency funding. Then, during the transition period, the President established a task force, with the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture as chair of the steering team and all coordinating ministers as members, along with the National Police Chief, the TNI Commander and the Finance Minister,” Tito said in a statement on Tuesday (27 October 2026).

He said that, during the recovery phase, most government activities in affected areas had resumed. Aceh Tamiang regency, which had previously suffered severe disruption, was beginning to recover. Basic services, including electricity, fuel, LPG and internet access, had largely returned to normal.

Hospitals and community health centres were also operating again. However, six auxiliary community health centres in North Sumatra had been damaged or destroyed by the disaster and still required attention.

Education had resumed as well. Of the 4,922 affected educational institutions, 99 schools were still holding classes in emergency classrooms. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is overseeing the response in coordination with the Ministry of Public Works and the Army.

“We would also like to express our sincere thanks to our colleagues in the Army, whose bridge task force has built hundreds of bridges. The Police have also built more than 100—around 120, if I am not mistaken,” he added.

Although services are beginning to recover, Tito warned that heavy rain was still triggering further floods and landslides in several areas. This has added to the government’s work to restore access and people’s daily activities.

Tito therefore called on ministries and agencies that had received budget allocations to accelerate implementation in line with this year’s targets. He said work on schools, homes, roads, bridges and facilities supporting local economic activity must continue so that affected residents can benefit as soon as possible.

“We hope this coordination will speed up all the processes, ensure all the ministries and agencies take action, and encourage local governments to move faster using their own budgets and the additional funding,” he concluded.

Also attending the meeting were Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, Housing and Settlement Areas Minister Maruarar Sirait, BNPB Head Kristomei Sianturi and other officials.