Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry has prepared a national program to restore the street drainage system.

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono noted in a statement here on Monday that one of the ministry's infrastructure programs in 2020 pertained to recovery of the street drainage system to be conducted nationwide.

"We have prepared a special national street drainage recovery program. Street drainage work is only a small part in a road construction project, so the contractor did not optimally work on it. In the northern coast of Java, we will reopen the street drainage covered by construction," he revealed.

The Directorate General for Highway Construction (Bina Marga) has prepared the design for the program, Hadimuljono remarked.

He explained that the road drainage system should be connected to the local sewage system to prevent rainwater from accumulating and damaging the streets.

Another program, under the Directorate General of Highway Construction, concerns the development of a suspension bridge in isolated villages in remote areas.

In 2020, the ministry will also renew its ministerial decree in 2015 on the status of national road. The status is to be renewed every five years.

Currently, a total of 47,107 kilometers of road in the country are designated as national road, bearing the white and yellow paint marking.

Translator: Aji Cakti, Sri Haryati
Editor: Bambang Purwanto
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