Air Belanda Indonesia - Netherlands Water Partnership

'Jakarta safer
thanks to the
Netherlands'
“The help provided by the Netherlands has accelerated
the tackling of the flooding problems in Jakarta. Jakarta is
already safer thanks to the Netherlands.” These are the
words of Mohammad Tauchid Tjakra Amidjaja, director of
the regional environment management board of the province
of Jakarta (DKI).
“The floods often only happen a couple of weeks a year and
cause great damage. But when the weather had passed, there
was a danger that the threat would be forgotten again.”
Indonesia asked the Netherlands for help
following extensive flooding in 2007.
The water was several metres deep in
some places. “Dutch experts used research,
data and models to show how the
floods are caused and how they can be
prevented. This enabled us to persuade
the decision-makers,” explains Tauchid.
“For example, the Dutch experts said that
the construction of an eastern drainage
canal would reduce the problems. The
plans for this had been drawn up a long
time ago, but had never been put in to
practice. The canal has now been in existence
for two years and has persuaded
more people, since the flooding has diminished.
Another recommendation was to
dredge the canals in order to be able to
carry away more water. That too helped to
reduce the floods. We have now received
a loan from the World Bank to carry out
large scale dredging work next year.”
Subsidence is a major threat
Another aspect to which the Dutch
experts have drawn attention is the
sinking of the city of Jakarta by 10 to
15 centimetres per year. That is caused
by the extensive extraction of groundwater.
“The Dutch experts have shown
that the subsidence of the soil poses a
serious threat to the city,” says Tauchid.
‘We are now trying to combat the sinking
of the city. Hence we have raised the tax
on using groundwater, so that it is now
more expensive than mains water. But
groundwater remains needed. There is
not enough mains water yet, nor is it
available everywhere yet. We are working
hard on improving that. We are also
encouraging apartment complexes and
shopping centres to reuse water. All this
has already reduced the consumption of
groundwater.”
Good that there’s a plan
A plan to protect Jakarta from the sea has
been developed with the assistance of
Dutch experts. There are various options.
The ultimate solution is to build a dam on
which a toll road can also be constructed.
“If we manage to counter the subsidence,
the dam will not be needed and we may
be able to get away with a smaller scale
‘The Dutch experts
have shown that the
subsidence of the soil
poses a serious threat
to the city’
project. But if the situation deteriorates,
we may need to speed up the execution
of the plans. It’s good that there’s a
plan. We know that there is a solution to
protect Jakarta. Whether and when the
dam will actually be built depends on
many factors, such as the funding. It will
probably take years before a decision is
made on this. But we know that we will
have to keep the rivers and canals clean
if the dam is built. We were already doing
that, but are now more convinced that it
really is necessary,” says Tauchid.
18 • Air Belanda Indonesia