After the massive inferno that gutted a storage tank at the Plumpang fuel depot on Jan. 18, the city administration revealed Thursday that it had teamed up with relevant institutions to rebuild the depot and relocate nearby squatters to low-cost apartments.

Deputy Governor Prijanto said every institution would be in charge of certain projects.

"Pertamina will fund the development of a canal and dam at the depot," Prijanto said.

The canal that encircles the complex will ensure the depot's safety, while the dam is meant to help stop recurrent flooding.

On Thursday, Prijanto met with representatives from state oil and gas company Pertamina, the Public Housing Ministry, the National Land Agency and state-owned housing company Perumnas at City Hall.

The meeting was the first step to involving all relevant parties after the fire that claimed one life and initiated a fuel crisis for several days.

The meeting was a follow-up to a meeting held Feb. 10, which was presided over by the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.

The Feb. 10 meeting concluded that the government should establish a joint task force to plan, budget for and build a buffer zone around the depot.

Prijanto said a safe distance between the depot and residential area was 200 meters.

"Currently, the distance between the squatters and the depot is only 50 meters," he said.

Experts have said that ideally there should be a safe zone of 100 to 200 meters separating the fuel depot from residential areas. The buffer zone is needed to allow firefighters and other workers to access the premises during emergencies

Following the Plumpang fire, Vice President Jusuf Kalla called the administration to vacate the depot and set a buffer zone to ensure safety.

"We have to take measures to free oil depots from residents," Kalla said.

At least 7,547 families reside around the depot.

Prijanto said his administration would cooperate with the Public Housing Ministry, the National Land Agency and Perumnas to build apartments for the squatters.

"The apartments will be built by Perumnas," he said.

Most residents have expressed opposition to the relocation, with some claiming to holding titles for the land.

Prijanto said a joint task force involving relevant institutions would meet next Friday.

"After the meeting, we will give the team two weeks to draw up a comprehensive plan on the canal and dam as well as locations for the low-cost apartments," he said.

Plumpang depot is the largest oil storage facility in the country. It is located on the side of Jakarta's inner toll road close to Tanjung Priok Port.

The depot has 27 tanks and supplies some 15,000 kiloliters of fuel to Greater Jakarta every day.

Early this month, National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Susno Duaji said the Plumpang blaze was the result of human error. He said friction between a fuel sampler and a measuring slot had ignited sparks.

"The sparks set the fuel alight and the fire took off," Susno said.

"The friction could have occurred during fuel sampling, but there could be other reasons. There are many possible causes." (iwp)

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