TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on Tuesday expressed his commitment to restore the Citarum River, after it was heavily polluted by wastes from domestic and textile industry.

The minister has sought to clean the river, so that for the next 5 to 10 years, starting from this year, people would be able to use water straight from the river.

"We hope the river will become cleaner and the water will become safer to consume in the next five years," Pandjaitan noted in Bandung, after leading a talk on introducing the restoration program of Citarum River.

He also sought to ensure that all the factories would provide waste-processing units, and the people who lived near the river would build a bathing/washing/toilet center (MCK).

The restoration project would be successful if everyone is willing to get involved, he stressed.

"We have to start now in order to restore the Citarum River, so that it will become clean within the next 5 or 10 years. We cannot expect any significant changes in one or two years. Restoring a polluted river needs years of consistent efforts," he explained.

The minister re-affirmed that the Indonesian government will take no grant from overseas institutions, including Asian Development Bank (ADB), which offers Rp200 trillion to fund the restoration project.

"ADB has offered a huge grant worth Rp200 trillion, and now it has been secured by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas). However, we need to review first whether this project will make use of a large amount of cash," he explained.

The minister stated that every ministry has a budget allocated for a conservation program. For example, the Environment and Forestry Ministry as well as the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing have allocated their annual budgets for funding preservation projects, such as restoring the Citarum River, Pandjaitan noted.

"These ministries' budgets have been allocated, but the program has not yet been implemented. Hence, our next task is to discuss with other ministries in order to fund this restoration program," the minister stressed.

ANTARA