Ciliwung Normalization Project to Finish in 2024, President Jokowi Says

President Jokowi when inspecting Ciliwung river normalization project at Ciliwung Inspeksi road, South Jakarta, Tuesday (02/21). (Photo by: Laily Rachev)

The Government has set target to complete the normalization project of the Ciliwung River at the end of 2024, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

He said that after a long pause, the project will resume. According to him, land acquisition process at several points has been completed by the Provincial Government of Jakarta and the construction can begin immediately by Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR).

“After stopping for a while, we will start the project immediately because there are already several lands that have been cleared, for example in Rawajati. The construction can immediately be started by Ministry of PUPR,” the President said at Inspeksi Ciliwung road, South Jakarta, Jakarta, Tuesday (02/21).

He explained that until today, there is 17 kilometers left that has not been finished yet.

For that reason, President Jokowi set target to complete it by the end of 2024.

He also expressed hope that with the normalization of the Ciliwung river and the existence of the Ciawi dam and the Sukamahi dam on the upstream, they will be able to reduce the flood in Jakarta.

“This will greatly reduce floods because water from the upstream areas will be held back by the Ciawi dam and Sukamahi dam,” he said, adding that apart from the Ciliwung river there are still twelve other rivers in Jakarta that need to be normalized to reduce the risk of Jakarta flooding.

“There are still twelve rivers in Jakarta which also require normalization,” he remarked. (MAY/AIT/SND) (EST/LW)