Jakarta Governor Anies Baswendan pledged on Wednesday to restore Ciliwung River to its natural state as a marine ecosystem.

Anies’ statement was as a response to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's remark made on Tuesday on restoring the Ciliwung River as Jakarta’s largest naturally flowing body of water, like Cheonggyecheon River in Seoul, South Korea.

Jokowi said that if there was a will, Ciliwung could be restored without the need to wait for rules and regulations.

"We've drafted the roadmap to restore the river to its previous condition," Anies said without elaborating on the roadmap. "This is more than just aesthetics.”

"The most urgent thing is that the rivers in Jakarta have significantly become more polluted over the years," he added.

Previously, Andono Warih, head of the environmental impact assessment unit of the Jakarta Environment Agency, had expressed his hopes that Jokowi would prepare a national-scale comprehensive plan to restore Ciliwung River, as reported by tempo.co.

Andono said the government had the authority to handle the project as the river stretches not only across Jakarta, but also through West Java.

"[It must] be handled by two regional administrations," he said. (stu)

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