Road Closed, Hope Opened: Bengkulu BWSS Builds Flood Control Embankment

BENGKULU - Sumatra River Basin Center (BWSS) VII Bengkulu temporarily closed road access in Tanjung Agung Village, Muara Bangkahulu District, Bengkulu City, in the context of building a flood control project in the area.

Road closures start from Tuesday, July 30 to Monday, August 5, 2025 at 21.00 WIB. The closure is carried out regularly because the work involves the process of hoarding and compacting embankments.

"This is a periodic closure, because we have entered the stage of bringing in a pile to increase the embankment. Each pile must be demolished and compacted. Like it or not, there must be a total closure," said Shinta Marino of the Nonvertical Water Utilization Network Implementation Unit (SNVT PJPA BWS) Sumatra VII Bengkulu in Bengkulu City, Antara, Thursday, July 31.

According to Shinta, if the hoarding process is completed at night, the road can be passed by two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles again in the morning. He hopes that the public can understand road closures because the project is important to reduce the risk of flooding.

"So at night they work, in the morning they can be passed, the system opens and closes in one direction. The closure will be carried out in stages, including up to the Sukamerindu area later," he explained.

BWSS VII allocates a total budget of IDR 2.9 trillion for the construction of a flood control system in Bengkulu City. Of this amount, IDR 100 billion was used for the initial stage which is targeted to be completed by the end of 2025.

"The work is already underway, and we are optimistic that we can complete the first phase according to schedule," said Head of BWSS VII, Medya Ramadhan.

In addition to the construction of embankments, this project also includes river normalization and other work in order to strengthen the resilience of Bengkulu City to floods.

The Mayor of Bengkulu, Dedy Wahyudi, called this development a concrete step for the government in dealing with the long-standing flood problem.

"This effort has been initiated for a long time. However, this time we are committed to completing it better," he said.

He added that this project is expected to withstand flooding from upstream areas such as Kepahiang and Central Bengkulu Regencies.