The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry has completed the construction of a prototype floating house in Semarang, Central Java - the first such home in Indonesia.

The house, built in a swampy area of Tambak Lorok in North Semarang district, serves as a prototype for house construction in areas prone to tidal flooding.

It is designed to protect the owner against tidal floods. When the runoff from sea water comes, the house, built on a foam-filled steel pontoon, will float.

The two-story floating house, inaugurated on Friday, will serve as a public meeting hall and library.

The environment-friendly building will also produce its own electricity of 1,000 watts a from solar panel and use biofil technology for the sanitation system.

The ministry oversaw the construction of the house, which cost Rp 700 million (US$51,746) and took six months to complete.

“This is the result of efforts by the ministry’s Research and Development Agency to develop floating infrastructure. In Semarang, the floating house is suitable for areas prone to tidal flooding, so that people whose houses are affected by floods will not need to elevate their houses every year,” the head of the research and development agency, Danis Sumadilaga, said during the inauguration event on Friday.

Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that besides being able to withstand tidal flooding, floating houses could also accommodate heavy weights. The ministry’s research showed that the structure’s foundation could hold up to 800 kilograms of weight per square meter. That was the reason the team built the house on two floors, he said.

Moreover, the construction cost of the house was 40 percent below that of regular houses of the same size, because it did not require the construction of a foundation.

The solar energy also suited the Tambak Lorok area, which was rich in sunlight, Basuki added.

Besides the floating house, the ministry developed other floating infrastructure technology, such as a floating bridge in Cilacap, Central Java, and sea breakwaters in Bali. The floating bridge in Cilacap was constructed on land and would be pulled to the water using a barge.

“Hopefully it can start operations next week,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mahatma Sindu, an architect with the ministry’s agency, said the technology had been adopted from the Netherlands.

Local people have apparently shown interest in the design and construction of the floating house.

The village chief said 300 people had expressed their desire to build floating houses thanks to their lower cost.

One floating house can cost between Rp 188 million and Rp 200 million, depending on the measurements. Three houses can be built on one pontoon foundation, allowing the house owners to arrange for joint sanitation and other facilities.

North Semarang district chief Jaka Sukawiyana said his office was mulling the construction of floating houses in the area, as Tambak Lorok was known as a slum area often affected by tidal floods. The floods have caused the land to subside by up to 13 centimeters.

Meanwhile, Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi said his administration was aiming to develop Tambak Lorok as a maritime village in an urban renewal program and engage the local people as well as local resources in the process.

The administration would realize the idea thanks to Rp 15 billion of funds from the ministry for road construction and environmental restoration. The ministry has also allocated Rp 151 billion to build sheet pile structures in the area and fund the floating house pilot project.

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