Palembang City Government Allocates IDR 38 Billion State Budget For Watershed Arrangement

PALEMBANG - The City Government (Pemkot) of Palembang, South Sumatra, has allocated a State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) of IDR 38 billion to organize Watersheds (DAS) as an effort to deal with flood problems.

Head of Bappeda Litbang Palembang Korlena in Palembang, Saturday, said the Palembang City Government in the initial stage of the watershed project would disburse funds of Rp. 38 billion through the pure APBN, with a target of 5.4 kilometers of construction in the Bendung River area.

He added that the budget was also to support the application for loan funds from the World Bank which, when combined with the State Budget, amounted to Rp800 billion.

The state budget of Rp. 38 billion, he said, focuses on fulfilling technical and social requirements. including land data collection and relocation if needed.

In addition, he continued, river normalization will be carried out, widening drainage, improving river narrowing, and installing additional water pumps as part of a comprehensive flood control strategy.

Previously, in overcoming the flood problem, the Palembang City Government (Pemkot) together with the Sumatra VIII River Basin Center (BBWSS) worked together in a major step to overcome the flood problem, which is still the main challenge for the city.

"Floods in Palembang are mostly concentrated around the Dam watershed. From July to August, the arrangement and widening of the river flow will begin which has been experiencing narrowing and sedimentation," said Palembang Mayor Ratu Dewa.

Ratu Dewa emphasized that this handling will be divided into three stages, starting with solving social problems, such as houses that hit the river, as well as utilities such as the PDAM and PLN networks.

This large project will be funded in stages with a total investment value of more than Rp800 billion, including support from the State Budget and World Bank loans.

He also asked for public awareness and participation, especially in maintaining river cleanliness and supporting the land acquisition process.

"We want this city to be flood-free, but it needs cooperation from all parties. The government is serious, now it's the community's turn to also support it," he said.