"We need collaboration between local government and private stakeholders to make the event successful," the minister stated.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is scheduled to host the 2nd Asia International Water Week which will be held in Bali from November 3 to 7, 2020. Indonesia will also hold a Stakeholders Consultation Meeting in Jakarta on November 11 and 12, 2019 in an attempt to prepare the 2nd Asia International Water Week, the Public Works and Public Housing Minister, Basuki Hadimuljono, said in a statement in Jakarta, Friday.

"We need collaboration between local government and private stakeholders to make the event successful," the minister stated, adding that increasing public awareness of disaster risks should be underlined.

The minister made the statement during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, June 27.

The signing of the MoU is with regard to the cooperation for the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) Phase II.

The MoU was signed between Hadimuljono and KOICA President Lee Mi - Kyung. The MoU was previously signed and submitted directly to Minister Basuki in New York by the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen-Wijbenga, who was unable to attend to Seoul.

While expressing his gratitude to the Korean and Dutch Governments for their support, Hadimuljono stated said Indonesia needed this agreement to reduce the risk of flooding, tidal flooding, and stopping the drop in groundwater levels in Jakarta which reached almost 12 cm per year.

"This collaboration between KOICA and K-Water is the key for the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry. Indonesia needs technical expertise and support from South Korea," he mentioned.

The collaboration between Indonesia and South Korea has been going on for years, including in the fields of transportation, water, and environment, Mi - Kyung remarked. Indonesia was also a collaborative partner in urban development.

The National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) is a form of environmental remediation that aims to protect Jakarta for the short, medium and long terms from the water crisis and the risk of flooding due to the phenomenon of land subsidence in North Jakarta through adaptive and strategic ways which are integrated with socio-economic aspects, urban planning, and beneficial to the environment.

In the first phase, a sea embankment of 20.1 kilometers (km) will be built to protect critical areas in an attempt to reduce the risk of flooding, tidal flooding, and preventing a decrease in the groundwater level of Jakarta City.

The construction of the emergency phase of the embankment was split between the construction of a 4.5-km embankment by the Public Work Ministry which was completed in 2018 and other development projects by the Jakarta Provincial Government and private stakeholders in the critical areas. (INE)

EDITED BY INE
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Translator: M Razi / Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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