This dam will also provide standard water for the Drinking Water Supply Company (PDAM)."
Gresik (ANTARA News) - The Bengawan Solo river dam designed mainly to cope with frequent floods in downstream area of that river in the regency of Gresik, East Java, will be operational in August, head of the Bengawan Solo River Monitoring Office (BBWS) Yudi Pratondo said.

Under its contract, the completion of the project is set for December, 2016 , but it is expected to finish the work earlier by the end of July and to be operational in August this year, Yudi said said here on Saturday.

The dam called Bendung Gerak Sembayat (BGS), which will holds water of Javas largest river, is 160 meters wide with dam walls 6.3 meters high.

Deputy Regent of Gresik, Mohammad Qosim, said he would ask the central government to develop the dam into a tourist object that it would give extra income for the district.

In addition to its main function to control floods and guaranteeing water supply for the district of Gresik and Lamongan , the dam is also potential as a tourist destination, Qosim said.

He said he greatly appreciated the central government for building the dam.

Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimulyono, visited here on Friday to see progress made in the construction of the dam.

"The BGS project is financed with fund from the state budget amounting to Rp720 billion . It has the capacity of holding 15 million cubic meters of water . Now the project is 95 percent completed and it would save the district from the threat of floods and shortage of water supply in dry season," the minister said.

The dam would also function to irrigate 800 hectares of rice fields and for water pump irrigation of 3,500 hectares of other farm lands.

"This dam will also provide standard water for the Drinking Water Supply Company (PDAM)," the minister said.

He said the central government also has built dams in other downstream areas of Bengawan Solo, including the Karangnongko, Bojonegoro and Babat dams , built mainly to guarantee water supply in dry seasons.

The government plans to build tens of new irrigation dams that would also function to prevent floods in rainy season and guarantee drinking water supply in dry season.
(Uu.H-ASG/O001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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