President Joko Widodo Unveils Tanju Dam to Support West Nusa Tenggara as the National Food Granary

Tanju Dam is another milestone of the Government's nine new dams completion plan this year,to increase national water supply up to 288 million m3

DOMPU,Indonesia,July 30,2018 -- President of Indonesia,Joko Widodo,today inaugurated a new dam,Tanju,one of the country's largest dams at the eastern part of Indonesia. Located at Dompu district,Sumbawa island,West Nusa Tenggara province,President says it aims to increase water supply and to open up new irrigation system,in order to achieve water and food security. As stated in the Nawa Cita,Tanju dam becomes the second dam to be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo in 2018,after Raknamo dam in Kupang on January 2018.

President Joko Widodo during site inspection of Tanju dam - accompanied by the Minister of Public Works and Housing,Basuki Hadimuljono; the Governor of West Nusa Tenggara province,Tuan Guru Bajang; and the Regent of Dompu,Bambang M. Yasin.

President Joko Widodo interacts with the locals before delivering his speech at the Tanju dam's inauguration today

"The water is crucial for the development of West Nusa Tenggara. If there is no water,what will we plant? As an illustration,currently we have only 231 dams while the United States has 6,100,China has 110,000 and Japan has around 3,000. As an agriculture country,we need many more dams- so I am happy that Tanju dam is completed in time. It will multiply our agriculture productivity,in particular Dompu area," said President Joko Widodo,during the inauguration ceremony on July 30,2018.

Nawa Cita is a priority agenda of the Indonesian government,directed by President and the Vice President of Indonesia,Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla. It focuses on equal infrastructure development throughout the country to support better development in every city in Indonesia. Efforts have been made through the completion plan of nine dams by 2018 to increase water supply of up to 288 million m3. It includes two dams in West Nusa Tenggara province,and Mila- which will be inaugurated later on this year.

"According to Nawa Cita's target,President Joko Widodo will construct 49 new dams and continue 16 dams ongoing by the end of 2019. Tanju and Mila are being parts of 49 new dams,the development started at 2015,at the beginning of President Joko Widodo's cabinet work. Up until now,nine new dams are finished,and the ongoing dams are 34. In 2018,we started the construction of 14 new dams and next year,it will be about 8 dams. Thus,we are optimistic that in 2019,we will be achieving 65 new dams in Indonesia," said Hari Suprayogi,Directorate General of Water Resources.

Tanju and Mila are located in Rababaka complex. It is a large river in Dompu area,that has potential to significantly improve agricultural productivity,through irrigation management in the area. However,it demonstrates land-scarce of agriculture and with such large amount of water sources,it only irrigates 1,689 hectares. As the consequence,up to 40 million m3 of waters are wasted and flowed out to the sea every year.

Tanju dam will offer capacity of 18.4 million m3 to help irrigation of 2,350 hectares,while Mila dam will support new irrigation of up to 1,689 hectares through its 6.5 million m3 of water capacity. Thus,with a capacity of 24.8 million m3,the twin lakes dam,Tanju and Mila,will potentially open new irrigation area,providing water supply to up to 4,000 hectares of Dompu area and to increase plant intensity to up to 3 times.

"This might be increase agricultural production and double the agricultural production. Particularly at boosting rain-fed corn and rice,that are being primary agricultural commodities of West Nusa Tenggara area. It will also significantly strengthen West Nusa Tenggara province as National Food Granary," added Hari.

The Dams Will Optimize Production Growth of Rice and Corn,as Main Commodities of the Province

As one of major agricultural commodity in the province,in March 2018,West Nusa Tenggara successfully outpaced the corn export target to up to 11,500 tons and by the end of 2018,the province is optimistic to achieve 30,000 tons of corn export to Philippines. As stated in a research data by Bank Indonesia,the increasing realization in project,such as the construction of new largest dams,reinforces the high export potential in 2018.

To succeed Indonesia's target as World Food Granary by 2045,President Joko Widodo prioritizes on dam and increasing water supplies,particularly in West Nusa Tenggara. As the National Food Granary in Indonesia,West Nusa Tenggara becomes one of the provinces with the largest number of dams and water supplies in Indonesia,consisting of nine existing dams and 61 water supplies with a capacity of 249.83 million m3.

Nine existing dams comprises Batujai,Mamak,Pengga,Tiu Kukit,Sumi,Gapit,Batu Bulan,Pelaperado,and Pandanduri. Three newly constructed dams include Tanju dam,Bintang Bano,and Mila. In addition,two dams that will be constructed in 2018 are Beringin Sila dam and Merinting.

Through the completion of the three new dams in West Nusa Tenggara,government is also confident to increase the rice production in Sumbawa Island. Currently,the rice production is around 3-4 tons/ha and now local government is targeting to double the harvested rice to up to 5-6 tons/ha for conventional method and 8-10 tons/ ha through system of rice intensification (SRI) method.

Tanju and Mila can serve multiple functions including land conservation area for fishing,ground sources for drinking water,and micro hydro power plants of up to 400 kw. Additionally,the twin-lakes dam will emerge as new tourism destination in Dompu area,West Nusa Tenggara,striving to promote a more productive economy apart of agricultural sectors.

About the Directorate General of Water Resources

The Directorate General of Water Resources,under the Ministry of Public Works and Housing,has critical roles in formulating and implementing water resources management policies,provided in compliance with relevant legislation.

In order to perform their duties in accordance with the Directorate General of Water Resources,their functions are: policy formulation in the field of water resources conservation,utilization of water resources and to control water damage on surface water resources,and utilization of groundwater in accordance with the provisions of legislation;implementation ofintegrated water resource management in compliance with the provisions of legislation;preparation of the norms,standards,procedures,and criteria in the field of water resources management;provision oftechnical guidance and supervision related to water resources management;implementation of evaluation and reporting regarding to water resources management; implementation of the administration of the Directorate General of Water Resources;and implementationof other functions provided by the Minister.

Media Contact:

Directorate General of Water Resources

Sub Division Public Communication

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Kementerian PUPR

Jl. Pattimura 20,Kebayoran Baru

Jakarta-Indonesia12110

Phone: +6221 7398614

Email:kompusda@pu.go.idataukompu.sda@gmail.com

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