REPAIR WORK ON FLOOD-DAMAGED ROADS TO BE ACCELERATED by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 8 , 2014(Antara) - Floods and landslides that have struck Indonesia in the current rainy season have inflicted material losses, claimed several lives, and also damaged public facilities, such as roads.

         Hundreds of kilometers of Java highways were badly battered by rain triggered flooding in January, as thousands of dangerous potholes hampered traffic, causing long traffic jams along city roads and intercity highways.

         In Java, 245 kilometers of  "national roads",  or around 20 percent  of the 1,300 kilometer Northern Coast highways, have been badly damaged by large potholes.

         The damaged roads have hampered logistic distribution and caused increases in the number of traffic accidents in many areas affected by the natural disasters.

         Meanwhile, the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistic (BPS) reported that the inflation rate in January 2014 reached 1.07 percent due to bad weather that disrupted food distribution.

         Road damages also could affect the National Traffic Safety Pioneering Movement launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on January 26, 2014, as part of the UN's Decade of Action for Road Safety.

         Therefore, for the sake of smooth logistic distribution and traffic safety, the government has decided to accelerate the repair work without waiting for the rainy season to end.

         "The emergency response operation will be carried out in an integrated manner across all regions that have highly damaged roads.

    The Ministry of Public Works will be in charge of the task, and we hope that the road infrastructure can be repaired in a quick and efficient manner," President Yudhoyono said, while chairing a limited  cabinet meeting in Jakarta on Friday (Feb 7).

         Further, personnel from the army's engineering directorate (Zeni) will be deployed to assist in the reconstruction work of the damaged roads.

         The president specifically ordered increases in the number of army personnel to assist in the repair of the roads in Pekalongan, Central Java, which is also the northern coastal area of Java.

         "I think, Pak Joko Kirmanto (the public works minister), the strength of the emergency response must be intensified to make it work, because the number of seriously damaged roads is not small,"
the president stated at the opening of the meeting, which was held at the presidential office.

         Based on his observation during the recent working visits to West and Central Java provinces, the head of state noticed that additional personnel and equipment are needed to fix damaged roads. 

         The president noted that he has requested the army chief of staff to deploy personnel from the army to help repair the damaged roads.

         Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto said permanent repairs of the roads will begin in March 2014.

         Kirmanto described the damage to the road infrastructure throughout the country as massive, especially in the northern coast of Java.

         The highways have  continued to be burdened  with heavy duty Vehicles, despite being inundated by flood waters, he said.

         The public works ministry, therefore, has taken emergency action  by covering potholes with materials such as stones to reduce possible traffic accidents.

         He confirmed that in accordance with President Yudhoyono's order, military personnel will assist in hurrying the road repair process.

         "Yes, we will cooperate with the military in carrying out the emergency work before permanent repairs  could start," he said.

         There are routine budget and emergency budgets, such as natural disaster budgets  that could be used for the repair, he said.

         "There is no problem in financing the work. The budget is available for the repairs," he added.

         He said he had no figure yet about the losses caused by the flooding to the Java northern coast highway.

         Director General for Highway Construction and Maintenance Djoko Murjanto, on a separate occasion, said routine and emergency budgets could be used for the emergency repairs totaling Rp330 billion.

         At least Rp2.12 trillion would be needed for the repair of roads battered by heavy flooding and landslides throughout the country.

         "Altogether, we need Rp2 trillion for maintenance," Murjanto said.

         The cost is for emergency repairs, around Rp510.32 billion, and permanent repairs, some Rp1.517 trillion, he explained. 

         The estimate was based upon repair figures taken through January 28, therefore, the cost would likely be larger, as flooding and threats of flooding are not yet over. He said his office had no plan to ask for additional funds, adding "We would use the remaining budget available."
    Many repairs are needed in Java, along its northern coast  highway  and  in Manado of North Sulawesi, the areas hardest hit by  floods and landslides so far this year.

         On the Manado-Tomohon highway there were 16 of 32 locations that need immediate repairs, adding that an emergency fund of Rp45 billion would be needed.

         Based on data at the Highway Construction Directorate General, there are at least 7,000 potholes along the northern coast highway of Java that require repairs, throughout a length of 100 kilometers.

         In Jakarta, the floods have damaged large swathes of 619 road sections and surrounding areas, leading to a large number of potholes.

         "The flooding has damaged roads, forming potholes of small and large diameters. The damages have led to traffic jams and accidents," recently stated Jakarta Police Traffic Director Senior Commissioner R. Nurhadi Yuwono.

         "The capital city's police have called for a coordinating meeting with the city's public works office to discuss road repair efforts," he added.

         In Central Jakarta, there were 120 potholed road sections, and 27 of them were repaired by the public works office. In North Jakarta, there were 136 potholed road sections and only seven were repaired,
he added.

         In West Jakarta, there were 91 potholed road sections and 52 were fixed. In South Jakarta, there were 157 potholed road sections, and no repairs have been performed, he explained.

         On Sumatra Island, repairs are also needed for highways in  South Sumatra,  Bengkulu and Southeast Sulawesi. ***3***
(f001/INE/H-YH)