T

he Jakarta administration, in cooperation with real-estate developer PT Manggal Krida Yudha (MKY), has commenced the construction of a giant water pump on the Ancol River in North Jakarta to help mitigate flooding in the city during the rainy season.

The head of Public Works Agency'€™s water resource management unit, Saut Martua Robert, said recently that the giant water pump would have a capacity of 110 cubic meters per second, double that of the pump house in Pluit Reservoir, North Jakarta.

'€œIt will mitigate the flooding in surrounding areas, including the lower areas near the Sunter River,'€ he said, adding that the catchment area of the pump house was estimated at least 4,760 hectares.

Saut said the new water pumps would also reduce the load on the existing water pump in Ancol. '€œThe capacity of Ancol is only 15 cubic meters per second and it is often overloaded and that is why the Gunung Sahari area is often inundated by monsoon floods,'€ he said.

He added that it was essential to construct the water pump as the floods in the northern parts of the city could only be solved through a river-normalization program.

'€œSubsidence means North Jakarta is below sea level, so the water cannot flow out to the sea,'€ he said.

Hernawan Mahfudz, consultant on the project, said the pump house was located near Ancol Recreation Park. '€œIt is built on the river, so it does not need land acquisition,'€ he said, adding that the facility would be erected on a one-hectare site.

'€œThe building will be equipped with 10 pumps with capacities of 10 cubic meters per second and two pumps with capacities of 5 cubic meters per second,'€ he said.

Hernawan said the pump house, costing around Rp 1.1 trillion (US$94 million), would be 10 stories high, so the height would be level with the nearby toll road. '€œThe upper levels can be used for public and commercial purposes, so someone can open a café, for example,'€ he said.

He added that the water pump would also have a waste management system, so that garbage that entered the pump house could be filtered.

MKY deputy director Djen Rizal said the pump-house construction was expected to be completed in two years. '€œMy company will manage the water pump for six years before the city takes it over,'€ he said.

According to Djen, the construction of the water pump is part of the public obligation of MKY before acquiring the principal permit for creating one of the 19 islets in the north coast. '€œThe obligation is usually paid after the permit is given but the city administration has changed the system. Hence private entities should fulfill their obligations first before acquiring a permit,'€ he said.

Djen said the company had begun replacing utilities and fencing off the construction site.

'€œWhen completed, the water pump can reduce the floods by up to 24 percent,'€ he said.