Constrained Ciliwung River Garbage Filter Project, DKI Provincial Government Admits Land Acquisition Has Not Been Completed

The Ciliwung River area in the Gedong area, Pasar Rebo, Jakarta, February 2019. (Between-Hafidz Mubarak A)

JAKARTA - The construction project for the Ciliwung River waste screening system in the TB Simatupang Road segment, South Jakarta, has not yet been completed. This project began to be carried out since Anies Baswedan was still the Governor of DKI Jakarta.

Head of the DKI Jakarta Water Resources (SDA) Office, Yusmada, admitted that the delay in completing the waste sieve project was said because there was still land that could not be acquired, namely at the entrance to the waste sieve.

In this waste sieve project, the DKI SDA Office is tasked with acquiring land. Meanwhile, the construction is carried out by the DKI Jakarta Environmental Agency.

"There are several places where the release has not been completed. Several points are still in process. There are various forms, some are still disputed, there are correspondence issues," Yusmada told reporters, Thursday, March 2.

However, Yusmada emphasized that the work would continue in areas where land acquisition had been completed. Along with that, the process of land acquisition at the entrance to the waste sieve continues to be pursued.

"There is land owned by the developer. Yes, this could be the project coming in, we are still committed to the land being completed, the project is going on. Maybe, technically in the form of temporarily borrowing and using it first," said Yusmada.

Previously, the Head of the DKI Jakarta Environmental Agency explained the progress of the first waste sieve work in the Ciliwung River, precisely in the Simatupang TB segment, South Jakarta, which has not yet been completed.

The construction of a sieve that can accommodate 40 m3/day waste has been planned by former DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan since 2018. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this project with a budget of IDR 195 billion will only be implemented in 2022.

There is one obstacle to working on the Ciliwung River waste sieve, namely the delay in the land acquisition process. The problem of land acquisition resulted in a three-month delay in the construction target.

"It should be January. Because there are obstacles on the land, so we give the extension of time. The land acquisition is delayed for 3 months. So, we are targeting the completion of the physical work on March 26," he concluded.