JAKARTA PLANS CONCRETE ACTIONS TO SOLVE PROBLEM OF FLOODS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 22 (ANTARA) - The central government and the Jakarta administration have come up with a number of concrete steps to solve the problem of floods.         There are several projects, including the construction of a spillway, to divert excess water from the Ciliwung River to a flood canal, which will reduce the impact of floods in the future. The projects will be completed by either 2017 or 2018. The total cost of the projects is Rp6.9 trillion.         Six steps will be undertaken by the government to solve the problem of floods.  One of the major projects is the construction of a waterway which will link the Ciliwung River to the East Flood Canal.         The Ciliwung River, which is one of the 13 rivers running through Jakarta, overflowed on Thursday, resulting in floods in Jakarta.          The West Flood Control and the East Flood Control canals were unable to stop the floods from inundating Jakarta.         "If the Ciliwung River overflows in the future, some of the water has to be diverted to the East Flood Control Canal," said the Public Works Minister, Djoko Kirmanto, on Monday.            The Public Works Minister said the spillway project costs approximately Rp500 billion.          "The project will begin this year, and the cost of the project will be approximately Rp500 billion," he said.          "We can either build a four-lane waterway which is 2.5 meters wide or a two-lane waterway which is four meters wide," he said.          He said the spillway project will reduce the impact of floods in Jakarta.          The Jakarta regional government has come up with a number of steps, in its short and long term programmes, to overcome the impact of floods in Jakarta.          "Our plan will be successful if all the stakeholders support the government's steps," said Jakarta's Governor, Joko Widodo (Jokowi).          He said at least six programmes will be carried out shortly. One of the programmes looks into the normalisation of the Ciliwung, Pesangrahan, Angke, and Sunter rivers.          The Jakarta administration will accelerate the resettlement of homes and people along the rivers' banks.          Other programmes will look into the construction of a waterway that will link the Ciliwung River to the East Flood Canal. Two dams will be constructed in Ciawi and Cimanggis.          Ciawi and Cimanggis will serve as buffer zones between Jakarta and the mountainous region of Puncak in the south, which often send flood waters to Jakarta during the rainy season.          "We will build a number of catchment wells and a high capacity multipurpose tunnel," he said.          Jokowi said his administration will also install sump pumps in North Jakarta, including Ancol and Pluit, to prevent accumulation of water in these areas. "Large-scale sump pumps will reduce water pools and floods," he said.          "The problem of floods cannot be solved by the Jakarta government alone; everybody's support is required," he said.          Therefore, the governor has discussed the problem of floods with the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) on Monday.          In the meantime, MPR's chairman, Taufiq Kiemas, has urged all the parties to work closely to solve the problem of floods in Jakarta.          "We should work closely to solve the problem of floods. It is impossible for the Governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo, to solve the problem of floods on his own," said Taufiq on Monday.          Taufiq said the problem of floods cannot be solved only by the Jakarta governor and his deputy, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged the central government to work closely with the regional government of Jakarta to solve the problem of floods.          "Jakarta is an important city because it is the capital city of Indonesia. In addition, it is also the country's financial hub. So, the regional and the central governments should work closely to solve the problem of floods," said the president.          The central government has set aside Rp2 trillion to improve the situation in Jakarta.          These funds will be used in the spillway project to divert excess water from the Ciliwung River to the East Flood Canal. This will reduce the amount of water flowing into the West Flood Canal.          "I am working closely with the authorities of the Commission V of the House of Representative (DPR), the Finance Minister and the Minister for Public Works to ensure that there are sufficient funds to solve the problem of floods," the president said.          The total cost of this project will be Rp500 billion, which will be borne by the central government.          Yudhoyono said the budget will be available in 2013.          Another project looks at the revitalisation of the Ciliwung River. The cost of the project is Rp1.2 trillion, which will be borne by the central and regional governments.          The president said the number of flood handling facilities, including pumps, mobile public baths, and toilets (MCK), will increase. A total of 50 MCK cars will be required. It will cost approximately Rp300 billion to come up with 50 MCK cars.***4*** (T.A014/INE) (T.A014/A/KR-BSR/A/A014) 22-01-2013 19:16:1