"The Danu Kerti Dam has been built since 2018, and today, we will inaugurate it. The budget spent to build this dam is Rp820 billion (US$55 million). This is quite a lot of money," Jokowi noted in his remarks as witnessed virtually from Jakarta, Thursday.
He stated that the dam's capacity is 5.1 million cubic meters, with an inundation area of around 29.8 hectares and will irrigate 588 hectares of rice fields.
"This dam will be used for irrigation of rice fields and to reduce flood as well," he remarked.
During the event attended by at least 800 elementary, middle, and vocational school students in Bali, the president got the students involved in quizzes, with bicycle as prizes for the winners.
Jokowi posed a question about the function of the dam to which three students, who replied correctly, were selected to join him on the podium.
The students succeeded in giving the correct answer to the question about the function of the dam that comprised managing water, preventing floods, and functioning as water reservoirs, as well as for tourism and power generation. Jokowi then gave away bicycle as prizes to the students.
The event continued with the dam's inauguration and was followed by the inauguration of the arrangement of the Tahura Mangrove Area in Ngurah Rai, Bali.
"I hereby inaugurate the Danu Kerti Dam and the arrangement of the Tahura Mangrove Area in Ngurah Rai, Bali Province," he remarked.
The inauguration ceremony was conducted by pressing the touch screen and signing the inscription.
Bali Governor I Wayan Koster stated that during the initial project, it was to be named Tamblang Dam. However, he urged the president to be willing to inaugurate the dam that should be named Danu Kerti Buleleng Dam based on local wisdom.
"We ask the president to inaugurate this dam. Originally, the project was called the Tamblang Dam. Thereafter, we asked to apply local wisdom (in naming it), and he agreed to use the name Danu Kerti Dam," Koster explained.
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Translator: Rangga Pandu A J, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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