"The emergency response will continue until the end of the rainy season, while the restoration of the damaged infrastructure will start in March," Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government will commence stage-wise restoration work on flood-affected infrastructure in March 2014 and will extend the emergency response for the next few days, stated a minister.

"The emergency response will continue until the end of the rainy season, while the restoration of the damaged infrastructure will start in March," Public Works Minister Joko Kirmanto remarked at the presidential office here on Friday.

Joko explained that the emergency response will be more effective by repairing the damaged roads in order to facilitate the distribution of logistics.

"The damaged roads require urgent repairs, as it is part of our efforts to facilitate smoother distribution of logistics to the flood-affected community," the minister noted.

He added that in accordance with President Yudhoyonos order, the military personnel will assist in accelerating the restoration process.

"The repairs of the damaged roads due to flooding in various places will be the governments top priority in order to facilitate logistics distribution and ensure road safety for the users," the minister claimed.

In the meantime, President Yudhoyono emphasized that the government will prioritize the repair work of heavily damaged roads, which have the potential to hinder logistics distribution and pose a danger to the road users.

"After the rainy season ends and the floodwaters recede, we will commence the overall restoration work on the damaged infrastructure," the president noted.

The head of state then pointed out that his working visit to West Java and Central Java, early this week, was to get a first-hand account of the damaged infrastructure that needed restoration.

He was hopeful that the emergency response activity will be optimally and quickly accelerated by repairing the damaged infrastructure. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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