Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono stated that construction of the dam was aimed at increasing the capacity of water storage to ensure the supply of water for irrigation purposes to agricultural areas, and it was also a flood-control measure.
"Construction of the dam will be followed by construction of the irrigation network. Hence, with a continuous supply of water from the dam, farmers, who previously only planted one crop a year, can plant two to three times," the minister noted in a statement received here on Thursday.
The Jragung Dam was built by the ministry through its Pemali Juana River Basin Center (BBWS) of directorate general of water resources after completing the construction of the Logung Dam in Kudus District and Randugunting in Blora District.
Head of Pemali Juana BBWS Muhammad Adek Rizaldi stated that Jragung Dam, with a capacity of 90 million cubic meters, would be used mainly as a source of raw water for some areas. Among the areas were Semarang City, with an allocated capacity of 500 liters per second; Grobogan District, with an allocated capacity of 250 liters per second; and Demak District, with an allocated capacity of 250 liters per second.
The dam would also channel water for irrigation areas that spanned 4,528 hectares in Semarang District.
"The contract for the Jragung Dam construction was signed at the end of 2020, and construction began in mid-2021 after the land preparation process. Currently, the overall progress in construction of the three work packages is around 21.6 percent and is targeted for completion in 2024," Rizaldi noted.
Currently, development is being pursued, with a construction method in which tasks were carried out simultaneously, so it does not need to finish one part in order to do another.
The Jragung Dam construction work consists of three parts, with the first one being carried out by PT Waskita Karya, with a contract value of Rp806.3 billion. Up until January 11, 2023, the physical progress in construction had reached 14.14 percent.
The second part was carried out by PT Wijaya Karya-PT BRP (KSO), with a contract value of Rp758 billion, with a progress of 24.97 percent, while the third part was developed by PT Brantas Abipraya-PT Pelita Nusa Perkasa (KSO), with project worth Rp735.9 billion, and physical progress of 25.68 percent.
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Translator: Aji Cakti, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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