VP-elect off to early start on eastern RI job

Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika | Tue, 09/29/2009 1:14 PM

Vice-president-elect Boediono, on a whirlwind tour of the often-overlooked eastern part of the country, is looking to explore new development models in the infrastructure sector there.

The former central bank governor spent a few days in Ambon, Maluku, to see infrastructure development projects underway there.

He then flew to Papua to assess development projects being carried out by the provincial administration there and to be further studied, analyzed and implemented in the future.

On Monday, Boediono transited at Moses Kilangin Airport in Timika to observe airport facilities and meet with regency administration officials.

He was met by Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu, Mimika Deputy Regent Abdul Muis, local high-ranking officials, legislators and top police and military brass.

After jetting in from Ambon, Boediono and his entourage were given a tour of facilities at the airport before meeting with the local officials.

Deputy Regent Muis complained to Boediono of the airport's shortage of aviation fuel provided by PT Freeport Indonesia, meaning only planes operated by Garuda, Merpati and Freeport could serve the airport.

"The airport faces supply shortages of aviation fuel, so flights to Timika are very scarce," he said.

He added the administration planned to build a waiting hall at the airport, as well as other infrastructure development plans, for which it sought government funding.

"The Mimika administration hopes the central government will promptly respond to the problems we face," he said.

Security for the Papua leg of Boediono's journey is provided by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police, with 300 personnel from the Sorong Military Command on alert around the airport.

Command chief Col. Fransen Siahaan said Boediono would pay a two-day visit to Wamena regency in the central mountainous region.

Boediono will also visit Boven Digul and Merauke regencies, before returning to Timika on his way back to Jakarta.

Siahaan said Boediono's visit to Papua was mainly to evaluate development, especially in the transportation sector.

The Transportation Ministry's director general for air transportation, Herry Bekti, and several experts from the field are part of the vice-president-elect's entourage.

Puncak Jaya Regent Lukas Enembe said Boediono's visit to Papua, particularly to the central mountainous region, was an important moment for him to observe several development projects.

"*Boediono* transited in Timika because Timika will serve as the major access point to the central mountainous region in the future," Lukas said.

"A port will also be built in Timika to connect a number of areas in that region."

Bridges are planned for construction in Juguru and Apema villages, as part of the 140-kilometer highway to Wamena.

The planned 500-kilometer road from Jayapura to Wamena, proposed in 1980, has yet to see the light of day, while the road from Wamena to Apema village has already been built.

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With Overdue Help, East Can Rise Again

Dutch help Bay Area plan for sea level rise

By Julia Scott, San Mateo County Times, 09/21/2009 05:20:10 PM PDT

A conceptual example of "tidal embracing development" in Foster City that accommodates sea level rise with a series of wetlands, a short levee with a public park behind it, and a thicker levee protecting apartment buildings. (Conceptual drawing courtesy Arcadis)

SAN FRANCISCO — How to plan for sea level rise, a still-abstract concept for many Californians, drew serious consideration from engineers, designers and urban planners from the Netherlands and the United States at a symposium Monday.

A group of government-sponsored Dutch experts presented a report with strategies to deal with sea level rise in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta based on a year's worth of research in partnership with the Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

With 50 percent of the Netherlands below sea level, the Dutch have been perfecting flood protection for the past 600 years.

The inevitable effects of climate change in California, and how cities can adapt to them, are starting to get more attention from Bay Area planners. While no one knows exactly how sea level rise will play out 100 or 200 years from now, analysts agree that more severe and frequent floods are going to be a part of it.

Avoiding sea level rise is by now impossible. The Bay has risen 8 inches since the start of the 20th century, and scientists worldwide agree that the Bay Area in particular can expect to experience sea level rise of as much as 16 inches by midcentury and as much as 55 inches by 2100.

Extreme storms will increase annual risk of flooding from 1 percent to 100 percent if no actions are taken to protect the Bay Area shoreline, potentially endangering 270,000 residents, according to the Pacific Institute. Development along the shoreline is currently valued at $62 billion.

How to plan for a future in which some of that real estate is threatened by storm surges — for a time beyond what today's urban planners will live to see — is the crucial question, said Will Travis, executive director of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

"We're in the same position as the captain of the Titanic. By the time he looked up, it was too late — he was going to hit (the iceberg)," he said. "We need to stop trying to protect the Bay Area the way it is.

Instead, we need to design it for the way it will be in the future."

That future may involve dismantling development in some places and letting the tide take its course, according to the report. Regional leaders may decide that some areas, such as the Port of Oakland and both regional airports, are too valuable to lose and must be protected at all costs. Other areas could be transformed to incorporate rising tides into the heart of a city.

The key is to begin asking those questions now, especially as several major developments at the edge of the Bay await approval, including Treasure Island and a Cargill saltworks site in Redwood City. Those areas were singled out in the report as "hot spots" for the Bay, meaning they represent the types of development most at risk from sea level rise.

"Just as in an emergency room, making these policy decisions will be difficult," Travis said. "It may be better to abandon some places than to allow the houses to be built and then try to protect them from flooding."

Frustratingly little is known about how well protected the Bay Area is from a serious flood even now, according to the report. (Cities on the Bay are expected to prepare for a once-in-a-century flood, but the shores of the Netherlands are armored with flood gates and other equipment strong enough to withstand a once-in-10,000-year onslaught from the North Sea.)

While many of the Bay Area's most vulnerable and valuable areas are protected by federally certified levees, they were all built before planners became aware of how sea level rise would change the whole equation.

Simply building higher levees is not a silver bullet, however. The Dutch came to that conclusion in 1995 after major flooding through the country's interior estuaries made them rethink the policy of walling off every section of river. They invented a new concept, called "living with water," designed to embrace sea level rise. They raised houses and let water flow underneath them. The government bought farmland along waterways and turned it into tidal wetlands, which naturally absorb water.

"People realize we can't just raise levees forever. If something goes wrong, you have an entire city that will be flooded in an instant. Water is a fact — we need to do something about it," said David Van Raalten, project manager for the pilot project between the Netherlands and California and a principal in ARCADIS, an international engineering and consultancy firm.

Rather than propose a series of tailor-made design solutions for each Bay Area "hot spot" based on a Dutch blueprint, the report offers a new way of thinking about what types of development ought to exist in which area. Zones with high economic value might continue to fill the Bay and expand with the help of levees and sea walls. Another option, labeled "tidal embracing development," could involve urban tidal canals carved into the suburbs or parking lots that retain storm water underground.

The Dutch government has formed similar partnerships in most of the world's most vulnerable water regions, including Louisiana, Indonesia, the Yangzee Delta in China and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, with the goal of sharing expertise and learning from each other.

The Dutch government spent 120,000 euros, or $176,000, on the Bay Area pilot project and is proposing to invest another 100,000 euros for further research in California, provided the state can match the money.

Ministry to connect 53,000 villages with Internet next year

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 09/08/2009 10:47 PM

The Information and Communication Ministry has aimed to connect the remaining 53,528 villages across the country with Internet next year.

"All villages should have Internet connections by 2010 at the latest," minister Muhammad Nuh said on Tuesday.

Of the total 72,000 villages in the country, only about 19,000 were connected to Internet so far, kompas.com reported.

The ministry has also planned to build 30 TV transmitters in border areas.

Govt prepares Rp 1.4t for post-quake programs

Erwida Maulia , The Jakarta Post , Bogor, West Java | Mon, 09/07/2009 5:32 PM

The government said Monday it would allocate Rp 1.4 trillion (US$140million) for rehabilitation and reconstruction programs after a powerful quake rattled West Java last week.

Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie told a press conference in Bogor, West Java, on Monday, that the money would be taken from the 2009 state budget's reserve funds because funds allocated for disaster management had already been used to deal with other catastrophes earlier in the year.

"We will soon verify how many buildings have been destroyed and how much damage has been done. After that we hope we can immediately begin the reconstruction," Aburizal said after a Cabinet meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We estimate that the cost will amount to between Rp 1.4 trillion and Rp 1.5 trillion. We hope the reconstruction will be completed by the end of February 2010," he added.

Aburizal said that the 7.3-magnitude quake, centered off the coast of Tasikmalaya, West Java, had affected 14 towns and regencies, killed 73 people and wounded hundreds of others.

He said the government would manage the reconstruction program similar to how it dealt with the aftermath of a major earthquake that hit Yogyakarta in 2006.

Jakarta buildings being checked after Wednesday`s quake

Antara News, Thursday, September 3, 2009 22:49 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Jakarta city`s construction order and supervision agency (P2B) has called for checks on all high-rise buildings in the capital following a powerful quake that happened off the West Java coast on Wednesday.

"We have issued an order for owners to conduct checks and observations on the construction and structure of their buildings," P2B head Hari Sasongko said here on Thursday.

The magnitude 7.3 quake also rocked Jakarta causing cracks on several high-rise buildings in the city.

"Some managements have contacted us and reported the condition of their buildings. No construction failure had happened. Damage mostly were fractured windows or ceramic tiles. No structural failures," he said.

Although checkings were made he believed around 700 high-rise buildings in the city remained safe as they had all met building requirements. One of the requirements is that construction must be able to withstand 10 to 20 percent of shocks.

The honorary chief of the Indonesian Association of Architects (IAI), Budi A Sukada, confirmed Hari`s statement saying construction of buildings in Jakarta could stand up to magnitude 7.0 quakes. The buildings had also been designed for use for 50 years.

"Permits are needed before building could be constructed. Meanwhile a routine check is also done every year on the constrution and infrastructure of high-rise buildings," he said.

Regarding the cracks and broken windows found in several buildings after the quake Budi said that they were still tolerable and were not menacing safety.

More than 50 people were reported to have been killed so far following the quake on Wednesday that affected mostly coastal regions.

President orders solar energy development

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 09/01/2009 5:33 PM

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered that development into solar-cell energy be explored in Indonesia.

Managing director of state-owned solar cell producer PT LEN Industri, Wahyuddin Bagenda, said following a meeting with SBY in Jakarta on Tuesday that the President supported moves for increasing the production of efficient solar-cell energies.

“... And he [SBY] is hoping that the price will be reasonable for the public. That was the most important issue.” Wahyuddin said in a press conference at the Presidential Office.

He said LEN could install solar cells with a capacity of 6 Megawatts, and could offer this renewable energy at US$3 per watt.

Wahyuddin said this capacity fell short of the government’s actual annual requirement of 10 MW.

“Based on our analysis, if we increase the installed capacity to 50 MW, we’ll be able to sell the solar cells at $1.2 per watt. The global price currently stands at around $1.7 per watt,” he said.

The Bandung-based firm will need around $17 million worth of investment to develop the 50-MW power plant, he said.

Building with green bricks

Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 09/01/2009 9:36 AM

All natural: The Green School in Bali features bamboo construction engineered into a more modern look. JP/ Zul Trio Anggono

Steel or stone? Bamboo or brick? Concrete or composites? A wiser choice of construction materials could go a long way to transforming our cities into “greener” urban jungles.

An environmentally friendly building is not only about choice of site and the play of the layout. The actual materials that are laid down for the foundations, frames, walls, roof and cladding determine how green a building really is.

To date, our vocabulary on building materials has been limited to bricks, cement, timber and glass with steel occasionally popping up when needed.

But experts agree that so much more can be done to make the already widely used materials greener or to maximize the potential of currently underused ones.

Bamboo is among the latter. The pipe-like plant that can grow and be harvested faster than conventional wood is earning the label of 21th-century building material.

“In just four or five years, bamboo stems are old enough to serve as solid framing. And every year afterwards it can still be harvested,” said Eko Prawoto, a leading architect who since 2000 has tested various types of bamboo construction.

“In a way, bamboo is more renewable than timber.”

While architects in Japan and Germany have started to explore the potential of the plant for the construction industry, not many in Indonesia are willing to take the same path that Eko trod.

“Bamboo has been utilized here for centuries and it has a social aspect, quite apart from the fact that it is a potential green building material,” he said. “Its elasticity makes it suitable for buildings in earthquake-prone areas like Indonesia and it’s a labor-intensive material.”

Because of its hollow cylindrical-shaped segments, bamboo is lighter than steel but can almost match its traction coefficient. It is also stronger than concrete.

Yet despite Indonesia’s abundance of the natural material, bamboo is still viewed as being a building material for the poor. Mention building with bamboo, and the image that most likely first comes to mind is of a makeshift shack in a rural village.

Indonesia is home to some 60 species of bamboo, on a total of around 320 hectares of plantation with an annual production of 726,000 tons, according to Forestry Ministry data.

Most bamboo production and trade is conducted by small and medium enterprises, ranging from traditional bamboo wall weavers to small workshops developing more modern bamboo product manufacturing processes.

Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University researcher Morisco has developed more solid bamboo jointing by combining the woody stalks with steel plates and bolts and filling the hollow segments at the joints with cement.

The result is a roof frame that is cheaper than that made of conventional wood, less prone to termites as the bamboo is pre-treated and can hold up even in the event of earthquakes.

Morisco’s laboratory has also come up with laminated bamboo where the stalks are cut and flattened into planks similar to wooden ones. These “planks” can then be further processed into wall cladding, doors, window sills and furniture.

And, as Eko pointed out, with plaster on both sides, a traditional bamboo wall is as sturdy as one made of brick.

A class of life: Visitors of the Bali Green School give a
try at weaving roof covering from dried tall grass. JP/Zul Trio Anggono

Bamboo is not the only green material. Several researchers have also tried modifying the composition of conventional bricks by utilizing waste.

Yogyakarta’s Islamic State University researcher Fajriyanto adds sludge from paper factories, plastic waste and coir into a composite that could serve as building panels, which would have an elasticity suitable for construction in earthquake-prone areas.

Meanwhile, a researcher at Bandung’s Ceramic Center, Nuryanto, is currently developing permeable ceramic paving, a type of ground cover that would better let water seep into the soil than the currently available concrete blocks do.

Once the prototype is completed and industry gets involved to mass produce these paving blocks, urbanites will be able to pave their car ports while still letting water flow underground, therefore both adding to groundwater reserves and preventing flooding.

“It is made of feldspathic materials which are more porous than concrete,” Nuryanto said. “Mixed with coloring, it can still be aesthetically pleasing as well as environmentally friendly.”

For the current planned production, the feldspar, or tectosilicate minerals, can be found in Banjarnegara in Central Java and Pangaribuan in North Sumatra.

Adding waste material to composites is actually not a new thing in the building material industry.

Researchers have long suggested the addition of fly ash, the waste generated from burning coal, into concrete mix.

Most recently, researcher Puti Farida Marzuki has also suggested replacing Portland cement with a mixture of hydraulic lime with fly ash when building small houses.

“Small houses such as those built by the government public housing program don’t need the strength of Portland cement. It’s too expensive and needs a lot of energy resources in the manufacturing process,” Puti said.

By mixing calcium hydroxide with cement-like pozzolan aggregate in a simple churning sill, locals can produce their own affordable alternative to Portland cement.

Many have tried coming up with more environmentally friendly building materials, but unfortunately, it is not that easy to tempt industries to start mass producing these alternatives.

So far, the research and development of such products has mostly been done independently of the building materials industry.

And apparently, there are no incentives available either to link inventors and producers.

For this, Indonesia might want to learn from its neighbor Singapore, which currently provides incentives for building material producers that develop greener products.

“We want to further develop our subsidy scheme into one where industries can submit an ad hoc proposal so that the support can be channeled when needed,” Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority research division director Ang Kian Seng said.

“But, we only want to support those with a sound proposal. Green construction does not need to be expensive,” he added.

Nevertheless, even without such a scheme, some local building material manufacturers have increased their own research and development efforts to serve the market with a greener product.

“The problem is that sometimes architects who are supposed to choose those greener building materials are not aware that they exist,” said Naning Adiwoso, head of Green Building Council Indonesia.

Naning pointed out that locally made products such as water-based paint, nano-finished ceramics or biofil septic tanks were already available for those looking for more environmentally friendly construction materials.

But, then again it’s always a matter of choice. Steel or bamboo? Concrete or permeable paving?