In 2022, fund allocations for the labor-intensive program are planned to reach Rp4.35 trillion.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry has projected the labor-intensive program in the water resources sector this year to employ 350,104 workers.

"In 2022, fund allocations for the labor-intensive program are planned to reach Rp4.35 trillion," Director General of Water Resources at the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry Jarot Widyoko stated at a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission X in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The labor-intensive program in the water resources sector in 2022 comprised the accelerated irrigation water management improvement program (P3-TIGA) worth Rp2.25 trillion, artificial aquifer for rain water reservoir (ABSAH) worth Rp145 billion, and water resource infrastructure operation and maintenance worth Rp2.45 billion.

The P3-TIGA projects will be realized at 10 thousand locations and employ 179,141 workers, ABSAH projects will be implemented at 580 locations and employ 4,640 workers, while the water resource infrastructure operations and maintenance will be conducted at 14,199 locations and employ 166,323 workers.

Earlier, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono remarked that the labor-intensive projects in 2021 had employed 1.8 million workers.

The labor-intensive projects in the water resources sector in 2021 had employed 361,771 workers, he remarked.

Related news: Labor Intensive Program in 2021 absorbed 1.8 million workers: Minister

Meanwhile, the number of workers employed in labor-intensive projects in the housing, planning and urban development sector; road construction sector; and housing sector had reached 417,381, 749,299, and 266,394 respectively.

The minister deemed the cash labor-intensive program (PKT) as being important for low-income people in rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The development of labor-intensive infrastructures is aimed at not only spurring economic growth and boosting the people's purchasing power but also at lowering the unemployment rate, he stated.

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Translator: Aji Cakti, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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