Purbaya Reveals the State Budget to Prepare Rp. 60 Trillion for the Rehabilitation of the Sumatra Disaster

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa emphasized that the State Budget (APBN) is in a state of readiness to support post-disaster recovery in the Sumatra region and the total funding needs for disaster rehabilitation in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra are estimated to reach Rp. 51 trillion.

Purbaya explained that long before the disaster occurred, the government had carried out budget efficiency which resulted in savings and from the results, there was approximately Rp. 60 trillion in the 2026 State Budget which could be allocated for disaster recovery, exceeding the needs that had been calculated.

"We have combed everything. Before the disaster we had collected Rp60 trillion from there. So we are ready to execute what we want. So when the Rp60 trillion needed by the President is needed, yes we are ready," said Purbaya to the media, quoted Tuesday, December 16.

He added that in 2026 the funds would be focused on rehabilitation and reconstruction programs in the three affected provinces.

Meanwhile, for the current year, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has submitted an additional budget of Rp. 1.6 trillion for disaster handling and the request has been approved by the government.

In addition, the government still has ready funds of Rp. 1.3 trillion which can be used by BNPB at any time if needed.

Purbaya assessed that the availability of disaster handling budgets for this year is still sufficient.

"If this year there is BNPB, it has already given Rp. 1.6 trillion. We still have Rp. 1.3 trillion. I don't know if he wants to give it again. They also had hundreds of billions before. So it's still enough," he explained.

On the other hand, he added that the Ministry of Finance also plans to provide flexibility in the distribution of transfer funds to regions for local governments affected by disasters.

According to him, the relaxation is expected to help the regions accelerate the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

According to him, the relaxation is expected to help the region accelerate the process of rebuilding and rehabilitating

With this step, Purbaya ensures that there are no funding constraints in post-disaster recovery efforts, both in the current year and in 2026.

"Then in 2026, for areas that are prone to disasters, there will be a relaxation of the funds to the areas that we cut, we loosen so that they can rebuild. So there is no problem for disaster rehabilitation," he said.