Central Government - Jakarta Administration Synergizes to Build Drinking Water Supply System (SPAM)

Central Government and Jakarta Government are serious about preventing Jakarta from sinking, which is through procurement of piped drinking water to reduce groundwater extraction. It was realized by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Synergy and Support for the Implementation of a Drinking Water Supply System (SPAM) in Jakarta.

In 2030, Jakarta must have achieved 100% access to piped drinking water services

The agreement signed by Home Minister, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Minister, Basuki Hadimuljono, and Jakarta Governor, Anies Baswedan was witnessed by Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan, in Jakarta on Monday (1/3).

"The issue of Jakarta sinking has become an alarm for the government, as the community's continuous use of groundwater. The government responded to this matter and took the initiative to reduce and stop the use of groundwater in Jakarta by providing adequate piped drinking water for Jakartans. Considering the urgency of these problems, there needs to be an integrated effort with fast handling," expressed Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan, as quoted by Jakarta PPID's press release.

PAM Jaya Targets to Expand Its Service By Building Three SPAMs

To realize it, Central Government in collaboration with Jakarta government has prepared a joint planning that synergizes the SPAM initiative project and was stated in a MoU which includes details of the program, timeframe and appropriate financing scheme.

"We are all affected by Covid-19 that affects fiscal conditions, but it doesn't mean we have to stop building and serving the community. This agreement is an important milestone to address these challenges," he continued.

Currently, the coverage of piped drinking water services in Jakarta was only able to fulfill service coverage of 64%, and supply 20,725 liters per second of water for 908,324 customer connections. As a result, people who do not have access to piped drinking water tend to use groundwater continuously, which is the cause of rapid land subsidence.

PUPR Minister, M. Basuki Hadimuljono asserted that the certainty of providing drinking water to all levels of society is an obligation to fulfill the basic needs of the community and one of the solutions to prevent Jakarta from sinking. Therefore, he was committed to building three regional SPAMs through the KPBU scheme to support the fulfillment of drinking water service coverage in Jakarta area, namely Jatiluhur I Regional SPAM and Karian-Serpong Regional SPAM, which are currently running, as well as Ir. H. Djuanda/Jatiluhur II is still in the preparation stage.

"With the construction of these SPAMs, it is expected to increase the capacity of Jakarta's drinking water supply by 9,254 liters per second which can be used to increase service coverage by 30%," he said.

He was also going to provide downstream infrastructure support to the administration for the absorption of bulk drinking water in the first year of the Jatiluhur I Regional SPAM and Karian-Serpong's Regional SPAM projects and project facilitation related to construction of Buaran III's Water Treatment Plant (IPA).

Therefore, he hoped that the administration was soon prepare the readiness criteria needed to be able to access the support for infrastructure development provided thus Regional SPAM that is built will immediately benefit the community and the coverage of drinking water services in Jakarta could be fulfilled soon.

It is known that in 2030 in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which have been ratified as targets in the Central Government's RPJMN and Jakarta's RPJMD, PAM JAYA, which is a BUMD from the administration must be able to provide an additional supply of 11,150 liters per second, and additional distribution infrastructure covering 35% new service area for piping to +/- 1 million additional new customers in 2030.

In the context of accelerating the project, the Home Ministry had facilitated through a series of joint discussions between PUPR Ministry and administration. "We'll also provide assistance in the form of regulatory support needed to implement the agreement in order to achieve MSPM through the provision of clean water as mandated by Law number 23/2014," he continued.

In line with the development of SPAM infrastructure, the governor has issued a policy of limiting and prohibiting groundwater extraction in areas that have been served by the PAM JAYA pipeline network, as stated in Gubernatorial Regulation number 93/2021 on Groundwater Free Zoning. It is aimed at minimizing land subsidence in Jakarta.

"In 2030, Jakarta must have achieved 100% access to piped drinking water services. We thank Central Government, in this case Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment, Home Ministry and Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, who are jointly committed to addressing the problem of drinking water availability as a basic need for Jakartans, as well as solutions for preventing land subsidence in Jakarta," he closed.