He made the appeal at a press conference after a coordination meeting with Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurthi Yudhoyono, in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He explained that the risks of disasters such as extreme weather, landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis in Indonesia are relatively high, primarily due to the country's geographical location in the Ring of Fire.
Based on the latest data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), in 2024, Indonesia experienced more than 5 thousand disasters.
Of the number, requests for rehabilitation and reconstruction targeting 17 types of infrastructure that were severely damaged were recorded.
The BNPB reported that the infrastructure damaged in the past year comprised 95 bridges and 26 embankments.
The number reflected a drastic increase compared to the 2019–2020 period, where BNPB received proposals to repair 33 damaged bridges and 8 damaged embankments in 2019.
To this end, he noted that reducing disaster risks and bolstering infrastructure are important because they are linked to efforts to improve public health and educational equity, in line with the government's human resources creation program.
Together with the Coordinating Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development, his ministry is hoping for collaborative support to devise ways to design houses, bridges, roads, or other public facilities, including embankments, so they can withstand potential disasters in the 2025 work program.
"The task of creating excellent human resources needs the contribution of infrastructure," he highlighted.
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Translator: M Riezko, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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