Prabowo approves giant river dredging operation, budget can reach Rp. 60 trillion

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto has agreed to the establishment of the Kuala Task Force proposed by the Minister of Defense, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. The main focus of this team is to dredge shallow rivers due to mud deposits in disaster-affected areas and to process muddy water into clean water.

The agreement was conveyed by President Prabowo in a limited meeting in Aceh Tamiang Regency, Aceh Province, Thursday. During the meeting, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin explained the strategy for dredging rivers that flow into the sea.

According to Sjafrie, dredging not only serves to lift sediment in the river bed, but also facilitates the distribution of heavy equipment through waterways so that it is closer to the affected land locations.

"There is a thought from us together with the TNI that the Tamiang River, for example, which is currently experiencing subsidence, we can do two activities at once, namely deepening and bringing heavy equipment closer to the mainland, while cleaning up wood and other materials. This is a big effort that we have to do," said Sjafrie to the President.

He added that a similar plan would also be implemented in other areas in Aceh, such as Bireuen, as well as other coastal areas that have similar conditions.

"From the sea we do a deepening to the river, so that the ship no longer needs to transport heavy equipment through the land route, but can go directly to the nearest point," he said.

President Prabowo welcomed the proposal and said that several governors had also conveyed similar ideas to him.

"We will normalize the canals. Please, the Minister of Defense and the TNI coordinate with the governors, talk to engineering experts, from state-owned enterprises, the Ministry of Public Works, engineering faculties, to large companies in the world that have the ability to work on large-scale engineering work," said the President.

On the same occasion, the Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, proposed the use of dredging equipment that is commonly used by miners in Bangka Belitung because it is considered to have a large and effective suction power.

The President responded by agreeing to carry out a large-scale operation to dredge rivers and estuaries, and confirmed his support for the implementation of the project.

The President also emphasized that his staff should not hesitate regarding financing. He stated that he was ready to approve additional budgets if necessary to support the smooth operation of dredging.

"It was originally proposed Rp51 trillion, I committed Rp60 trillion. Whatever we need. With the effort to dredge the estuaries, there will be additional costs, no problem," said the President.

After obtaining the President's approval, the Minister of Defense reported that the Ministry of Defense together with the TNI had formed the Kuala Task Force.

"This Kuala Task Force consists of two compositions, namely the deepening of the kuala and the use of water in the kuala. On these ships, water treatment systems will be installed so that muddy water can be processed into clean water," said Sjafrie.

He added that the Kuala Task Force would start working in the next two weeks, with the initial location of work in Kuala Simpang, Aceh Tamiang Regency, Aceh Province.