T

he Jakarta administration will soon evict 200 families living on the eastern side of Pluit Reservoir in North Jakarta, following its plan to strengthen the dike immediately adjacent to the sea.

As the sea level is almost level with the top of the dike, the administration plans to expand and reinforce it by the end of this year.

The dike, which will connect Pluit Reservoir to Nizam Zachman fishing port in Muara Baru, North Jakarta, will be 3.8 meters high, a meter higher than the current dike, which stands at 2.8 meters.

Nonetheless, Housing and Government Building'€™s Agency head Ika Lestari Aji said on Monday that the administration would be unlikely to evict all residents in the area this year as the administration had not prepared sufficient low-cost rental apartment (rusunawa) units to accommodate the evictees.

In the initial phase this year, she added, the administration might only relocate 200 families to several rusunawa such as Marunda and Muara Baru in North Jakarta.

Fewer than a hundred units in Marunda rusunawa, as well as no more than 50 units in Muara Baru, are available, Ika said.

'€œWe will then proceed with other stages of evictions in the area after we finish constructing apartments in eight locations in the capital,'€ Ika told The Jakarta Post, adding that the construction would be finished this year.

She said that the city was building rusunawa in East Bekasi in West Java, KS Tubun in Central Jakarta, Semper in North Jakarta, and Rawa Buaya in West Jakarta, as well as West Cakung, Pinus Elok, Rawabebek, Jatinegara Kaum '€” all in East Jakarta. With those rusunawa, the administration would have around 2,443 new units.

This year'€™s evictions are part of the administration'€™s revitalization of Pluit Reservoir, which began during the governorship of current President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

At the time the administration pledged to the residents that it would not evict them before it had places for relocation.

Ika said that once the administration cleared the area around Pluit Reservoir, it might build another rusunawa in the area. The construction would probably be finished in 2019 or 2020.

Previously, Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said that the administration was set to expand the dike at Pluit by the end of this year in a bid to prevent the area from being inundated. The construction, he added, had to start soon because of the subsidence in the capital.

'€œIf the sea overwhelms the current dike, it would collapse and could kill 10,000 people in the area,'€ Ahok said last Thursday when he accompanied Netherlands'€™ Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders to observe the densely populated neighborhood.

On the occasion, Koenders said that he made the visit to take a look at the administration'€™s policy of providing better housing, as well as a cleaner environment, for people living in slum areas, like near Pluit Reservoir.

'€œWe both work on the same issue, which is keeping out water. What I see here is impressive as I see [the administration'€™s policy] could lead to a better future for the people,'€ Koenders told reporters. '€œI am very happy to see it and the close relationship between the Netherlands and the government on this issue.'€

The government has been working with water-management specialists from Dutch research institute Deltares in building the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development project, known as the Giant Sea Wall, in a bid to protect the capital, which is currently threatened by subsidence that could leave parts of the city 4 to 9 meters below sea level.