Head of the West Sumatra Regional Settlement Infrastructure Center Kusworo Darpito said the program initiated by the Drinking Water Directorate General of Human Settlements at the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry was implemented in Sawahlunto to develop and install infrastructure to optimize the drinking water supply system.
"To optimize the water supply system in Sawahlunto City, the NUWSP program is assisted with a contract value of Rp27 billion. The work has been going on; the progress has now reached 21 percent," he said here Wednesday.
The contract for the work began in November 2021, with the timeframe for completion set at 300 working days, he said.
Darpito advised all stakeholders to support the drinking water supply system optimization, saying it can help surmount challenges in the supply and distribution of drinking water for the public.
"Similarly, when this work is done, of course, we need our (collective contribution) in caring for what has been built and installed so that it can last a long time and the community can feel most of the benefits," he said.
Mayor of Sawahlunto, Deri Asta, said the program has been initiated in response to the questions and complaints from the public about the performance or service of the regional drinking water company.
"The performance and service of Sawahlunto Drinking Water Company had not been (optimal) so far due to infrastructure limitations, in which (attempts to) repair or building it using the regional budget were constrained because the cost was very high while the regional budget was limited," he elaborated.
"Thank God, our request to the central government has been approved. Now, the infrastructure for the provision and distribution of drinking water is being built using the program, which has a very large value of Rp27 billion," he said.
He listed some challenges that the company has faced so far, such as limited network infrastructure and regional topography.
The Mayor said distribution is often constrained so there are complaints of water reaching people’s homes only twice a week, particularly for people in the highlands.
"The cost of water in Sawahlunto is high because pumps and electricity are expensive, (not to mention) the cost of distributing water is also expensive. (To address this issue), the city government assists by providing subsidies so that water can be sold to the public at a price below the production price," he added.
He said that addressing this problem requires a comprehensive solution and a large budget.
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"Once again, we are very grateful to be able to get (the program's) assistance for optimizing this drinking water supply system so that in the future, the performance and services of Sawahlunto Regional Drinking Water Company can be better and public complaints can be resolved," he elaborated.
The Sawahlunto Mayor, along with several leaders of Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) and the director of the regional drinking water company, Arifman, reviewed the implementation of the construction and installation of the infrastructure at the Sawahlunto Regional Drinking Water Company’s pumping area in Kandi.
Asta's entourage included the head of the West Sumatra Regional Settlement Infrastructure Center, Darpito, and some of his staff.
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Translator: Miko Elfisha, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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