The Minister Of Public Works Calls The Floodway Sikambing Belawan Becomes A Solution To Overcome Floods In Medan

MEDAN - Minister of Public Works (PU) Dody Hanggodo stated that the construction of the "floodway" of Sikambing-Belawan is one solution to overcome floods that often hit the Medan Selayang and Medan Sunggal sub-districts in Medan City, North Sumatra.

"This Moodway was built to divert and regulate the flow of water from the Sikambing River to the Belawan River," said Dody while reviewing the construction of the Sikambing-Belawan floatingway in Medan, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday, November 8.

He is optimistic that after the flood control channel is completed, the inundation that has been occurring in the two sub-districts can be significantly reduced.

"God willing, after the floatway is over, Medan Selayang and Medan Sunggal will no longer experience flooding," he said.

Dody explained that the project cost Rp66 billion from the 2023 '2025 State Budget, and was carried out by the Sumatra II River Basin Center (BWS).

The Floodway has a length of about 1.1 kilometers. He admitted that the work was hampered due to the community land acquisition process.

This project is planned for two years, but was hampered by land acquisition. Currently, the progress of development is approaching completion, hopefully by the end of November it will be finished," he said.

The development is expected to increase the water flow capacity, especially during the rainy season, so that the potential for water overflow can be reduced.

The central government, said Dody, also continues to coordinate with the Medan City Government regarding the arrangement of riverbank areas and community education to maintain the cleanliness of the river flow.

"We hope that after this project is completed, community activities will no longer be disrupted due to flooding," he concluded.