"I ask the Governor of Lampung and the district head of Pringsewu to use this dam for the benefit of the community and farmers," Widodo said at the inauguration of the dam on Thursday.
He also asked other districts in Lampung that were fed by the Way Sekampung Dam to make the best use of it.
He said that the availability of water in the area fed by the Way Sekampung Dam would be sufficient.
Therefore, Lampung province as one of the national food barns must maintain this dam properly, he added.
The launch of the dam will increase rice production, President Widodo added.
"From the first two harvests, it (production) could be (raised to) three harvests," he said while inaugurating the Way Sekampung Dam, which has a capacity of 68 million cubic meters and an inundation area of up to 800 hectares.
"This dam is multifunctional, it can be used for irrigation, then for raw water, as well as for power generation and flood control," he added in a speech that was broadcast live on the official Youtube channel of the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday.
The dam, which was being built since 2016, has been constructed at a cost of Rp1.78 trillion. It is capable of irrigating 55 thousand hectares of existing irrigation areas and 17,500 hectares of new irrigation areas.
The President said the extensive irrigation capability of the dam is expected to help increase agricultural productivity in the area.
In addition to irrigation water, the dam is also capable of providing 2,737 liters per second of raw water, generating 5.4 megawatts of power, and controlling floods, he added.
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Translator: Agus W, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
