President Hopes Jatigede Dam Can Soon Become Operational

Jakarta, Sept 12 (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed hope that the Jatigede Dam in West Java can soon become operational and can be used for irrigation, flood prevention, and electricity generation, noted a minister. Coordinating Minister for Economy Chairul Tanjung remarked at the presidential office here on Thursday that Yudhoyono has been briefed on the latest updates on the progress of the dam`s construction, and the president said it could soon become fully operational. Chairul stated that the head of state was also informed about the outcome of a recent meeting between the economic minister, public works minister, and West Java governor to review the progress on the Jatigede dam project. "We reported the outcome of the meeting about the progress of the dam to President Yudhoyono today, and the president, in principle, wants it to soon become operational," the economic minister noted. Meanwhile, Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto affirmed that once the Jatigede dam becomes operational, it will be the second-largest dam in Indonesia after Jatiluhur dam, which is also in West Java. He stated that once the Jatigede dam becomes operational, it will be able to irrigate 90 thousand hectares of paddy fields, provide 3.5 thousand liters per second of drinking water, and generate 110 Megawatts of electricity. "The construction of the Jatigede dam is 99 percent complete and will soon become operational, but we still have a problem because some people in the vicinity of the dam have not yet been relocated," Joko explained. The public works minister emphasized that the relocation issue was discussed in a limited meeting with the president on Thursday, but in order to complete the task, it required the necessary funding and a presidential decree. He pointed out that a presidential decree detailing the plan to relocate thousands of residents living in the vicinity of the dam had not yet been issued. Djoko emphasized that the office of the coordinating economic minister agreed to the plan of allocating Rp1.1 trillion from the state budget to pay compensation to the thousands of families still residing in the dam area.