TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry is targeting to complete construction of Sepaku Semoi Dam in Tengin Baru village, Sepaku sub-district, North Penajam Paser district, East Kalimantan, by 2023.

The dam will serve as a raw water source for the new capital city, Nusantara, which is also under development, PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said.

The dam, which will span 280 hectares and have a capacity of 10.6 million cubic meters, will initially meet the raw water needs of Balikpapan city, he informed.

Hence, since the infrastructure will also support the new capital, it will be optimized to supply 2,500 liters/second of raw water and reduce flooding by 55 percent, he said.

"In future, we will increase the water supply capacity by building the Batu Lepek Dam and Selamatyu Dam. Meanwhile, the flood control infrastructure is being designed to be established soon," the minister informed in a written statement received on Saturday.

Meanwhile, head of the Kalimantan IV Center for River Basin (BWS), Harya Muldianto, informed that the construction of Sepaku Semoi Dam reached 37 percent as of mid-February 2022.

"According to the contract, the dam is targeted to be completed by the end of 2023. However, we will expedite the development to finish the physical structure of the dam by early 2023. Thus, the impounding (initial filling) of the dam can be conducted by mid-2023," he added.

The Sepaku Semoi Dam is being constructed under a multi-year contract worth Rp556 billion involving operational cooperation among several domestic companies, including state-run construction company PT Brantas Abipraya, he said.

Currently, there are six reservoirs in East Kalimantan province. They include Manggar Dam (with a capacity of 14.2 million cubic meters), Teritip Dam (2.43 million cubic meters), and Aji Raden Retention Basin (0.49 million cubic meters) in Balikpapan city.

In addition, there are Kalhol Mahakam River Intake (0.02 million cubic meters) and Lempake Dam in Samarinda city (0. 67 million cubic meters), and Samboja Dam in Kutai Kartanegara district (5.09 million cubic meters).

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