Minister Of Transportation Budi Karya: Weather Modification Is Important For IKN Infrastructure Development To Run Optimal

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi said that weather modifications needed to be improved to ensure that infrastructure development in the capital city of Nusantara (IKN) in East Kalimantan could run optimally.

"We are instructing weather modifications to continue to be improved in the next few months, so that the construction of the IKN airport will be optimal," said the Minister of Transportation in a statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Saturday, July 13.

The Minister of Transportation again conducted a direct review of the progress of the IKN Airport construction on Friday, July 12.

Budi stated that the biggest challenge for the construction of IKN Airport is continuous rain in the East Kalimantan region.

He revealed, from the discussion during meetings and experiences experienced by the Minister of Transportation while in the field, the biggest challenge in infrastructure development at IKN is the weather factor.

"It should be noted that the rainfall in the East Kalimantan region is quite high in the past month, even only eight days of sunny weather. Therefore, the modification of the weather is a must," said the Minister of Transportation.

The Minister of Transportation explained, out of a total of 30 days, starting only 8 sunny days in the IKN area. If this condition continues, he continued, the target for the construction of a number of IKN Airport facilities has the potential to resign from the initial plan.

According to him, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has made efforts to modify the weather and generally succeeded in reducing the intensity of rain.

"I ask for weather modifications in the East Kalimantan region to be increased in collaboration with all stakeholders," he said.

The Minister of Transportation hopes that this step can support the acceleration of infrastructure development in the IKN area as a whole.

"Please pray from all Indonesian people so that the various efforts made can produce the best results," explained the Minister of Transportation.

Then, during his visit to the IKN Airport construction project, the Minister of Transportation reviewed several points, one of which was the airport terminal building. According to him, the progress of development in this location is generally good and can continue to be maximized.

"The access road to the airport can be passed. Other works that are currently being carried out include installing ceilings to electrical mechanics," explained the Minister of Transportation.

The Minister of Transportation also explained that the construction of the functional runway for IKN Airport to welcome the Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia was sought up to 2,200 meters.

The construction of the runway by the Ministry of PUPR is carried out very well, according to procedures, and is confirmed to have met international standard security.

"I appreciate the Minister of PUPR and his staff and workers who have worked hard to complete this airport project. This contribution is very, very meaningful for the progress of the country," said the Minister of Transportation.

Regarding the high rainfall in the IKN area, the Minister of Transportation received a complete explanation from the Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati through a video conference made from her official residence at IKN.

Dwikorita revealed, from June 1, 2024 to June 12, 2024, when the Weather Modification Technology (TMC) had not been implemented, rainy events continued to occur at IKN.

Then after the implementation of TMC, from June 14, 2024 to June 16, 2024, there was practically no rain.

However, on July 7, 2024, there was actually an early warning about the Madden Julian Oscillation phenomenon, which is a kind of weather anomaly that incidentally was predicted a few days earlier.

"It seems that with a very strong anomaly, this (rain) cannot be overcome," said Dwikorita.