T

he Jakarta administration and the central government will soon begin construction on reservoirs in Ciawi and Sukamahi in Bogor, West Java.

The Ciawi and Sukamahi reservoirs would act as water-catchment areas in the highlands south of the capital city, helping to reduce the impact of floods in Jakarta.

The Public Works Ministry'€™s Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Control Office (BBWSCC) head T. Iskandar said that the Jakarta administration as well as the Bogor regency administration would team up to fund land acquisition.

'€œPreviously, it had been planned that only Jakarta would fund the land acquisition. However, we think it would be easier if Jakarta and Bogor teamed up and split the cost in half,'€ Iskandar said over the phone on Friday.

A total of Rp 1.2 trillion (US$93.8 million) would be needed to acquire 107 hectares of land in Cipayung Datar and 24.8 hectares in Sukamahi. Thus, Jakarta and Bogor would need to allocate Rp 600 billion each.

Meanwhile, the ministry would be responsible for the physical construction of the reservoirs, which would need up to Rp 1.9 trillion. Iskandar said that the tender for the project contractor would begin this October and construction would start soon after.

The reservoirs would be able to hold up to 11.8 million cubic meters of water and may reduce water flowing to Jakarta by 40 percent when it rains.

'€œCurrently the DED [detail engineering design] is still being drafted. However, land acquisition may be done in the meantime,'€ he said, adding that currently the ministry was constructing a road for heavy equipment to access the construction sites of both reservoirs.

Iskandar said construction was expected to be completed in 2017.

Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said that the two reservoirs would greatly help Jakarta and its surrounding areas during the rainy season.

'€œIt would help reduce the overflow of water in the Ciliwung River, which most often comes from West Java,'€ Ahok told reporters at City Hall in Central Jakarta recently.

Floods in the East Jakarta area are often caused by heavy rain in Bogor which increases water levels, causing the Ciliwung River to overflow.

However, Ahok said that land acquisition would most likely hamper the development of the two reservoirs as the project would need more than 100 hectares.

'€œPak Aher [West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan] is currently strategizing on the best method for land acquisition. The President [Joko Widodo] has asked us to finish the land acquisition by the end of this year,'€ he said.

The developments in Ciawi and Sukamahi are among many efforts to reduce flooding in Jakarta. Aside from the two reservoirs, Jakarta is also currently developing a number of reservoirs in the city itself, namely in Marunda in North Jakarta, as well as the '€œnormalization'€ of areas surrounding the city'€™s many rivers.

Such projects have been hampered by difficulties in land acquisition, as many residents who live in affected areas refuse to give up their land or fail to reach an agreement on the price of the land with the city administration.