Hope May Be on Horizon for the Ciliwung, as Basuki Meets With Dredging Firm

The Jakarta Globe, January 04, 2013


The company that provided the dredging technology used to clean up the Bengawan Solo River is offering the same service to the Jakarta administration as it prepares to launch a long-awaited program to dredge the Ciliwung River this year.

Representatives from the firm Bio Energy Legacy met with Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama at City Hall on Thursday to discuss their technology.

Adilwan, a spokesman for the company, told reporters after the meeting that Basuki had responded favorably to the presentation and had expressed an urgent need for the kind of technology that the company was offering.

He claimed that Bio Energy’s dredging equipment was “cheaper, faster and more modern” than conventional equipment. The company was previously involved in dredging the Bengawan Solo River that runs through Central and East Java, as well as the Brantas River in East Java.

Adilwan declined to say how much it would cost to clean up the Ciliwung, but said the company was hopeful about the prospect of a strong partnership with the city administration.

The restoration of the Ciliwung’s flow, which has been long constricted by sedimentation and illegal riverbank settlements, is a key part of the city administration’s long-term plan to overcome the city’s flooding problem.

“The sedimentation problem affects all the rivers, not just the Ciliwung or Angke,” Governor Joko Widodo said last week.

“That’s why they have to be dredged, maybe as deep as two meters.”

Joko also stressed the importance of raising public awareness about the hazards of throwing trash into the rivers.

“Campaigns to build a culture of disposing of trash in the appropriate places [instead of in the rivers] are needed,” he said.