REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM -- Indonesia's Public Works and Housing Ministry has planned to install a 50-kilometer clean water pipeline from Sei Gong dam in Galang Island to Batam Island. "After the completion of the dam's construction in 2018, we will install the clean water pipeline to Batam Island. The distance is some 50 kilometers. We had planned this earlier," Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said during a visit to Sei Gong dam in Galang Island, Batam, on Thursday.

This region has a raw water potential in Galang; thus, the government has constructed the dam in the island with a capacity to hold 11 million cubic meters of water, despite its long distance to Batam city. "In addition, we are still looking for other potentials, because this will only be enough to meet (water demand)for one to two years. We have to find other locations," he stated, adding that the dam would be managed by Batam Authority.

Sei Gong is the ninth dam that was built to meet raw water demand in Batam. The region needs a supply of 3,250 liters of water per second.

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The previous eight dams had supplied some 2.8 thousand liters of water per second, and the remaining 400 liters of water would be supplied by Sei Gong dam. "That was for this year. In the next five years, with population growth and economic growth of 5 to 6 percent, we will need more water. Therefore, we will continue to find other potential dams too," the minister remarked.

Earlier in the day, President Joko Widodo has visited Sei Gong dam and distributed smart card (KIP), health card (KIS), family hope card (KPKH), and nutritious food for local residents in Galang district.

The president had called for speeding up the completion of the Sei Gong dam in Galang, Batam.

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