Jakarta, ABIM (30/11/2023) – “In order to combat the threat of climate change, the Indonesian government must construct additional dams and reservoirs for water storage.” Additionally, dam construction is given priority so that substantial water reserves remain even during the drought season, as stated by Minister Basuki in the 2023 Hydraulic Engineer International Seminar (HEIS) entitled “Water Actions Toward Climate Resilience, Green Economy, and Sustainable Development” held by the Association of Indonesian Hydraulic Engineers (HATHI) at the Tarumanegara University Campus, Jakarta (11/25).
According to Minister Basuki, Indonesia still has a relatively small number of dams in comparison to nations like China and South Korea. “As a large archipelagic country must also think big to continue increasing the amount of water storage. The Chinese government by the end of 2022 is recorded as having at least 98,000 dams, then South Korea has around 18,000 dams, while we are approaching around 300 dams.” he said.
Minister Basuki further emphasized the necessity of paying attention to and changing dam designs so that they can perform efficiently in utilizing water throughout both the dry and rainy seasons. “No less important is updating dam designs, where all dams must have sluice gates so that they can be operated optimally in the rainy and dry seasons,” he said.
Additionally, Minister Basuki stated that the PUPR Ministry remains committed to promoting sustainable and eco-friendly development by maximizing the potential of its diverse infrastructure. “Floating solar energy (as an illustration) employs 20% of the surface area that a dam utilizes.” “Floating solar energy has the capacity to generate 4,800 Megawatts (MW) of electrical power, excluding all existing dams,” he stated.
Furthermore, according to Minister Basuki, the PUPR Ministry has converted 23 of its previously constructed dams into hydroelectric power facilities.
Meanwhile, Bob Arthur Lombogia, the Director General of Water Resources and Chairman of HATHI, stated in his report that this seminar would be a golden opportunity for practitioners and experts in the field of hydraulics to collaborate in order to develop solutions to challenges related to natural resources. “This seminar was attended by 370 national and international participants with several international speakers,” he added.
President of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research Phillippe Gourbesville, Yooshin Engineering Corporation South Korea Hwan Ko, and Senior Manager of Korea Water Resources Corporation Jongchan Kim were in attendance as guest lecturers. Meanwhile, present to accompany Minister Basuki, Director General of Water Resources Bob Arthur Lombogia, Head of the Human Resources Development Agency Khalawi AH, and Expert Staff to the Minister of PUPR for Technology, Industry and the Environment, Endra S. Atmawidjaja.(ABIM)
