West Java to go ahead with contentious dam

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

Despite protests, the West Java provincial administration will go ahead with construction of a dam in Jatigede, Sumedang regency, to irrigate farmland along the province's north coast.

The project has sparked protest by residents of the area who feel they were unfairly compensated for the land that was appropriated for the dam.

West Java Governor Danny Setiawan said during a visit to Cirebon on Thursday that his administration would go ahead with the project because it was necessary for West Java to remain a rice bowl in Java.

"The construction process will continue despite the increasing protests. The dam is important for a majority of the people in the province because it will irrigate large areas of farmland along the north coast, which has become a rice belt in Java," he said.

Danny said he had established a special team to handle all problems related to the project in an effort to speed up the construction.

He acknowledged that a small group of people in Sumedang opposed the dam, but said a majority of the people were behind the project.

"We promise that we will handle the resettlement of 4,000 residents from the construction site peacefully, and we will provide fair compensation for the about 6,000 hectares of land needed for the project," he said, adding that he had ordered the Sumedang regent to seek a fertile area near the project site to resettle the affected residents.

According to the provincial administration's plan, the project will be carried out next year under the coordination of the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure.

Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructures Soenarno said the central government had designed the dam and allocated Rp 600 billion (US$70.5 million) to finance the project. But, he said, construction has been delayed for five years because of protests by locals and environmental organizations.

The minister said the dam would irrigate farmland along the north coast, as well as acting as a water reserve during the dry season and controlling flooding during the rainy season.

He said would be able to hold 650 million cubic meters of water and irrigate about 90,000 hectares of farmland in the regencies of Indramayu, Cirebon, Majalengka, Subang, Krawang and Sumedang, as well as in the regencies of Brebes and Tegal in the neighboring Central Java province.