Future govt must focus more on building dams
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Investor Daily - Pemerintah mendatang harus lebih gencar bangun bendungan
15 June 2023
By: Tri Murti
Jakarta - The future government is expected to be more aggressive in building dams as the number and the capacity of reservoirs in Indonesia are still limited amid the looming water crisis. The government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is targeting to build 66 more dams that consist of 61 new dams and 5 dam projects that were in the backlog.
“If [the dams] were not built by the government [of President Jokowi], we would have a severe water crisis. So, the future government must be more committed to building more [dams]. If they can, four times more than Jokowi,” Special Staff to Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Minister for Water Resources Firdaus Ali said to Investor Daily on Tuesday (13/6/2023).
At the start of President Jokowi’s term of office, Indonesia had 233 dams. Now, the government has successfully completed 36 dams out of the target to build 66 dams. Hence, if Jokowi’s government can complete the 66 dams, Indonesia will have 299 dams.
“However, that number is still far below other countries, such as India that has 1,500 dams, Japan that has 3,000 dams, the United States of America that has 6,000 dams, and China that has 110,000 dams,” he stated.
Since the time Indonesia declared independence until 2014, Firdaus continued that the number of dams did not increase significantly compared to the increase in the demand for water resources and the increase in water-related disasters, such as floods and landslides. After the government of President Jokowi complete the 66 dam projects, the dam capacity ratio to the Indonesian population will reach 57 cubic metres (m3) per capita per year that is far below Thailand’s that reaches 1,265 m3 per capita per year.
The greater dam capacity in Thailand has allowed the country to export various food products, such as rice and fruits.
“They [Thailand] have reservoirs or dams that can provide irrigation for agriculture and plantations,” he said.
Firdaus also reminded that poor water security would affect our food security. Hence, he hopes that dam construction in Indonesia will continue to be improved in terms of numbers and capacity.
The dam that has the largest capacity that has been built by President Jokowi is Jatigede Dam with a capacity of 1,061 billion m3, followed by Paselloreng Dam with a capacity of 128 million m3, Bintang Dam with a capacity of 76.2 m3, Sadawarna Dam with a capacity of 70.86 m3, and Way Sekampung Dam with a capacity of 60.06 million m3.
“Later, just build 10 dams, but they each must at least hold a capacity of one billion m3. However, if you want them to be spread evenly, build many. However, the capacity must be larger so that our reservoir capacity can increase significantly,” Firdaus explained.
Watering 245,103 ha of crop fields
Meanwhile, the PUPR Ministry stated that the 36 dams built between 2015-2022 could water 245,103 hectares (ha) of crop fields that are four times the size of Jakarta. They can also increase rice production to 2 million tonnes per year. Besides that, the 36 dams can provide additional raw water of 17.19 m3 per second for 10 million people.
Dams and Lakes Director of the Water Resources Directorate General of the PUPR Ministry Adenan Rasyud said that, to improve the productivity of food agriculture, the government implemented two main strategies, increasing the conversion from paddy to rice and improving the crop index.
“Completing 61 dams by 2024 will improve the crop index from 143% to 200%. Water irrigation service will increase from 231 existing dams that reached 10.6% (761 thousand ha) in 2015 to 19.3% (1.4 million ha) in 2024,” Adenan said recently.
Besides water and food security, Adenan added that, out of 187 dams in 2015, 23 dams were used for hydropower plants (PLTAs) with a total capacity of 507,264 megawatts (MW). The dams include Batutegi Dam (28 MW), Jatiluhur Dam (150 MW), and Bili-bili Dam (20.1 MW).
“Meanwhile, regarding the 61 dams built between 2015-2024, there are 43 dams that can provide electricity with a capacity of 258.16 MW that include Way Sekampung Dam (5.40 MW), Jatigede Dam (110 MW), and Leuwikeris Dam (20 MW),” Adenan said.
Furthermore, the PUPR Ministry continues to complete the construction of the 61 dams between 2015-2025 in various regions in Indonesia. Adenan Rasyid said that, as part of the target to complete the 61 dams, seven dams were completed and inaugurated in 2022, namely Semantuk Dam (East Java), Ciawi Dam (West Java), Sukamahi Dam (West Java), Sadarwarna Dam (West Java), Beringin Sila Dam (West Nusa Tenggara), Kuwil Kawangkoan (North Sulawesi), and Tamblang Dam (Bali).
“So, from 2015 to 2022, 36 dams were completed. Next, between 2023-2025, 25 dams will be completed,” Adenan said.
