President Jokowi Inaugurates Pamukkulu Dam in S. Sulawesi Province

President Jokowi inaugurates Pamakkulu Dam in Takalar regency, South Sulawesi province, Friday (07/05). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Muchlis Jr)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Friday (07/05) inaugurated Pamukkulu Dam in Takalar regency, South Sulawesi province.

The President expressed hope that the dam could increase agriculture productivity in the regency.

“Every country is experiencing a decline in agriculture productivity, in rice production. It is forecast that 500 million people throughout the globe may suffer from starvation. Thus, water becomes essential,” he said.

President Jokowi pointed out that the dam, whose construction began in 2017, was built using a budget of Rp1.6 trillion. It has a capacity of 82 million cubic meters and an inundation zone of 460 hectares.

“The benefits will be huge, especially for the people of Takalar regency. It can be used as raw water for power plants, it can reduce floods, and most importantly, it can be used for irrigation to water rice fields in Takalar regency and its surrounding areas,” he said.

The President further said that to increase agriculture production in South Sulawesi province, the Government distributed 20,000 pumps to all regions across the country, 80 pumps of which were distributed to Bantaeng regency. (KS/DNS) (DH/MMB)