Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo announced that the East Flood Canal project would reach the ocean
Dec. 31.
“As we promised, the construction will be completed by Dec. 31,” Fauzi said Tuesday.
“However, we admit that there are certain spots that haven't reached the required width,”
Fauzi said.
Chief of the Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Bureau at the Public Works Ministry, Pitoyo Subandrio, said some sections, such as those at Sunter River, Pahlawan Revolusi bridge, Pondok Kopi, Rawa Bebek and Marunda in North Jakarta, were not fully dredged.
“Some of the sections are still 15 meters in width, compared to the required 70 meters,” Pitoyo said.
Despite the unfinished sections, he claimed that the situation would not hinder the flow of water to the sea, since the dredged parts are between 4 and 7 meters deep.
“The construction is not finished yet, but we have pushed the contractors to connect the canal to the sea by the end of December to make us better ready to face the annual flood in January,” Pitoyo said.
He said the construction of the East Flood Canal was 96.5 percent completed. The inspection roads, bridges and wire fence are the remaining projects.
“Employees will work the next two days, break on Jan. 1 and continue the work from Jan. 2,” he said.
Pitoyo said he believed the contractors would finish the remaining construction before their contract term finished in June because the city had completed the hardest part – the land procurement – on Dec. 18.
“We have finished with the land procurement,” he said. “I believe the contractors will quickly finish the job because it will save money.”
When the construction is finished, the 23.5-kilometer-long canal, which will be 10 meters deep and between 100 and 300 meters wide, will push 390 cubic meters of water per second.
It will control six major rivers in the city, including Cipinang, Sunter, Buaran, Jatikramat, Cakung and Blencong. The canal is estimated to reduce flooding across the 270-square-kilometer flood-prone area in the east and north parts of the city.
The canal will stretch along 13 subdistricts in East and North Jakarta; Cipinang Besar Selatan, Cipinang Muara, Pondok Bambu, Duren Sawit, Pondok Kelapa, Malaka Sari, Malaka Jaya, Pondok Kopi, Pulo Gebang, Ujung Menteng, Cakung Timur, Rorotan and Marunda.
Pitoyo said he was deploying a number of officers to monitor the canal around the clock to prevent people from fishing and throwing garbage into the Rp 4.6 trillion (US$474 million) project.
Late November, Umar, a 27-year-old man, allegedly drowned while looking for fish in the canal in the East Flood Canal in East Jakarta.
