The capital is crossed by 13 rivers: the largest of which is the Ciliwung. Flooding forces hundreds of people to evacuate every year. Heru Budi Hartono has revived a plan to consolidate margins that was suspended in 2019.
Jakarta () – The new interim governor of Jakarta, Heru Budi Hartono, must deal with the problem of the floods that devastate the capital every year. In the last two weeks, Jakarta and the Bogor regency have suffered several episodes. Authorities have already evacuated more than 460 people and 3,662 houses have been damaged by water and landslides in East Java province.
Loyal to President Joko Widodo, Hartono took office on October 17 and one of his first actions was to ban Jakarta officials from taking vacations during the rainy season. He has also taken up a project to channel the Ciliwung River that had been abandoned by his predecessors Anies Baswedan and Vice Ahmad Riza Patria.
The project was commissioned in 2017 by the then Chinese-born Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok. The plan was to eradicate illegal settlements along the Ciliwung River and prevent flooding by 2024.
Jakarta is crossed by 13 rivers, the largest of which is the Ciliwung. The rapid urbanization of recent years has caused an uncontrolled increase in housing along its banks, which has changed their structure, turning them into sandbanks. The recurring floods of the river force the inhabitants to seek refuge in other places, often Catholic buildings and establishments.
When Baswedan was elected governor of Jakarta, the project was abandoned because the city had run up huge debts. In 2019, the purchase of 118 riverside plots for which 160 billion rupees ($11.4 million) had been earmarked, was suspended. The original plan was to turn the riverbanks into a 17.5-kilometre-long pedestrian area, but only just over a kilometer has been completed so far. On the other hand, many residents have opposed the forced relocation.
