Jakarta to spend $190 mln on controlling floods

Antara 31 Jan 12;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Jakarta administration is planning to spend US$190 million on controlling floods in the capital under the Jakarta Urgent Flood Mitigation Project (JUFMP).

"US$140 million of the funds will come from World Bank loans and US$50 million from the central government and the Jakarta city administration," Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said in a press conference held after receiving chief of the World Bank representative for Indonesia Stefan Koeberle here on Monday.

Fauzi said construction of the project also known as Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative (JEDI) would be started in September 2012 and was scheduled for completion in 2016.

"Most of rivers in Jakarta still cannot be dredged in an integrated way. Dredging must be done from the upstream to downstream of the rivers," he said.

Stefan Koeberle said the project appeared to be complicated and therefore, it needed in-depth study of social and legal aspects as well as of material losses caused by floods in the capital.

"This project will improve the Jakarta flood-controlling system so that it will meet international standard in terms of environmental and social security," he said.

Under the project, 11 sections of main canal covering a length of 67.5 km would be rehabilitated and four dams covering an area of 65 hectares would be dredged to restore their operating capacity, Fauzi said.

The rehabilitation project would affect a number of areas in the capital including Sunter Hulu, Jelakeng river, Krukut river, Ciliwung river, Cideng, west flood canal, Sentiong Utara river, Sunter Utara dam and Sunter Selatan dam.

Editor: Ella Syafputri