TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Industry ministry to help small manufacturers after flood
The Industry Ministry has allocated about Rp 4 billion (US$288,333) for national natural disaster aid over the year.
Change Size
Children play during a flood in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, on Jan. 1. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)
T
he Industry Ministry plans to replace the damaged capital of small and medium manufacturers (IKMs) affected by recent massive floods in Greater Jakarta.
"We can assure small IKMs whose machines were damaged by flooding that we will provide 100 percent replacement," said Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita in Jakarta on Monday.
He said small businesses were the ones most affected by the flooding as large industries usually had measures to anticipate and mitigate losses from natural disasters.
He also said that during the week he would assess some IKMs affected by the floods, which lasted for several days in some parts of the city.
Gati Wibawaningsih, the ministry’s director general for small and medium enterprises, told the press that the minister would inspect a tofu and tempeh manufacturing plant in Semanan, West Jakarta, and a furniture center in Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta, among other places, to assess the flood’s impact on the small industries.
"We allocated about Rp 4 billion (US$288,333) for national natural disaster aid for the year," she said, adding that the ministry and local industry agencies were still conducting research on the number of affected IKMs and their losses from the recent flood.
She went on to say that the amount of aid would depend on the suggestions of the manufacturers. However, as people were still focused on evacuating their families, the ministry had not yet received any reports.
“For some, it is not their first flood, so they are relatively calm,” Gati said. “We can proceed with the aid once they are ready to start production.”
According to 2018 ministry data, there are 4.49 million IKMs nationwide. Some IKM centers in West Java were recently affected by the flood, including convection centers in Tambora, rattan manufacturers in Grogol, West Jakarta, snack manufacterers in West Bandung and palm sugar IKMs in Cigudeg, Bogor.
The Retailers Association has estimated that retailers in Greater Jakarta lost more than Rp 1 trillion as shops ceased operation amid severe flooding.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported that the death toll from floods and landslides in West Java, Jakarta and Banten had climbed to 60 as of Sunday and that 92,261 people had been relocated to shelters throughout Greater Jakarta as of Saturday night.
