T

he East Flood Canal project is expected to be completed by the end of this year, as the necessary land will be acquired by middle of the year, an official said Saturday.

"When the land acquisition is completed in May, we will still have six months to complete the project," head of the Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Bureau at the Public Works Ministry, Pitoyo Subandrio, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

"Land procurement has been the major hurdle in the way of canal construction," said Pitoyo, who is in charge of construction.

The target was to have land procurement completed by the end of last year, but the city administration has only acquired 70 percent of the 250 hectares required for the project.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the relevant agencies to speed up construction of the canal after floods hit some areas in the capital last week. He said he hoped the project would be completed this year.

As part of the project, 25 flyover bridges, three dams and a floodgate will be built along with the construction of a 23.5-kilometer-long canal with an inspection road.

Pitoyo said 16 km of canal had already been constructed.

The canal will be 10 meters deep and between 100 and 300 meters wide. It 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.

The project, worth Rp 4.9 trillion, 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-km flood-prone area of eastern and northern Jakarta.

Pitoyo said the canal construction contract would expire in November this year.

Eight contractors, including PT Pembangunan Perumahan (PP), PT Waskita Karya, PT Adhi Karya, and PT Hutama Karya, signed the contract in December 2007.

Ari Safari, an executive of one of the contractors, said construction of the 32-meter-wide Raden Inten overpass in Duren Sawit t was high on his company's priority list.

"Out of the four assignments, we are prioritizing the construction of the *Raden Inten* bridge. Hopefully, we will finalize it by the end of this month," Ari told the Post.

Pitoyo said 15 out of the 25 planned bridges to cross the canal are currently under construction.

After the Raden Inten overpass opens to public in this February, construction of another bridge on Jl. Pahlawan Revolusi in Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta, will start.

The Post has observed that many residents still occupy some parts the land intended for the canal despite ongoing construction.

"Imove until the administration provides us with a reasonable price," said Yenni, who lives in a motorcycle workshop near Bambu Duri Bridge. "They have to measure my property correctly."