Jakarta will never be flood-free: Governor

The Jakarta Post 22 Jun 10;

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said Tuesday that realistically Jakarta will never be free from floods, the problem the city’s residents complain about the most.

“It is impossible for us to make Jakarta free from floods,” Fauzi said during a hearing with the Jakarta Council as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Fauzi explained that the floods were mainly caused by Jakarta’s unpredictable environmental conditions and the fact that 40 percent of its land is located below the sea’s high tide level.

“Moreover, 13 big rivers stream through the city and end up in the Jakarta gulf,” he added.

As part of efforts to reduce floods by 2012, the administration has planned to repair road drainage systems in 33 locations across the capital this year.

The city will also build a drainage system that channels waters into the West Flood Canal
via the Cideng River.