75,000 massive concrete blocks will strengthen crucial Afsluitdijk

DutchNews, April 24, 2018 

Artist’s impression: Infrastructure ministry roads department 

The Afsluitdijk, the 32 kilometre dyke which links the provinces of Noord-Holland and Friesland, is to undergo an extensive programme of maintenance, starting at the end of this year. 

The overhaul is necessary because sea water levels are rising and there is an increasing risk of extreme weather, the infrastructure ministry’s road department said. In addition, too much water is entering the IJsselmeer lake from the rivers inland. 

The dyke will be clad in 75,000 concrete blocks each weighing 6,500 kilos and produced at a special factory in Harlingen. The locks will be strengthened as well and new pumping stations will be built to get rid of superfluous water. 

The project will cost €555m and will be finished in 2022. 

It’s the first time in 85 years the Afsluitdijk, which was opened to traffic in 1933, will undergo such extensive work. ‘We put the dyke through its paces every six years and a number of years ago it became clear that it isn’t strong enough,’ project manager Joost van de Beek told broadcaster NOS. 

The renovation will ensure the dyke’s safety until 2050, the ministry said.  It will not be closed off during the work but there will be some disruption to traffic and one of the two traffic lanes will be closed for a total of two years.

Jakarta Plans to Construct Sea Wall Along North Coast

The Jakarta Globe, Ulma Haryanto

Raising the dead. Workers digging up graves at the Malaka Public Cemetery in East Jakarta on Tuesday. About 100 bodies had to be relocated in order to make way for the capital’s East Flood Canal project. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG)

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo has announced that he would construct huge sea walls to protect the North Jakarta coastline from the possible consequences of global warming and other causes of tidal flooding.

“Flooding is not caused by trapped rainwater alone. It can also come from the sea, such as the tidal flooding in Muara Baru,” Fauzi said on Monday.

“Areas such as Muara Baru are the worst affected,” he added. “The sea wall will protect the lowlands of North Jakarta from the threats posed by tidal flooding.”

Fauzi also mentioned the possibility of using reverse osmosis to turn seawater into clean, drinkable water.

“B y using reverse osmosis, as already practiced by countries in the Middle East, seawater can be turned into drinking water. This is going to be a decades-long, not just a multi-year, project,” he said.

As previously reported by the Jakarta Globe, Armi Susandi, a climatologist from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), has predicted that Jakarta would sink at an average rate of 1.37 centimeters a year in the coming years.

Armi agreed that a sea wall should be built along the coastline of North Jakarta by 2015 to protect it from the rising waters.

“These walls should be at least 2 to 3 meters above sea level and 6 meters thick,” he said.

Rudi P Tambunan, head of urban development studies at the University of Indonesia, applauded Fauzi’s initiative. He said that last month he was invited to a meeting of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) to discuss the prospect of protecting the coastline of North Jakarta from flooding.

“Considering the depth of the sea, those walls should be at places where the depth is 8 to 20 meters,” he said.

Rudi said the project was being explored in tandem with Fauzi’s initiative to reclaim certain areas of the coastline to create small islands and to revitalize existing beaches. He added that the city administration’s plan was to construct several two-square-kilometer islands 200 meters to 250 meters off the coastline.

Tarjuki, head of the water resources division at the Public Works Agency, confirmed to the Jakarta Globe that the sea wall had been included in the Jakarta Spatial Plan for 2010-2030.

However, he said, the project would not start immediately as the city administration would need to assess the details, which would take at least two years.

“The dikes currently built along the coast are temporary, and not for the long term,” he explained.

To mitigate flooding and offer residents protection from tidal surges, the Jakarta city administration has built dikes in some areas of North Jakarta, including Kali Baru, Pluit and Muara Baru. However, some sections of these dikes have reportedly already collapsed, with the worst failures in the Muara Baru area.

Seawater floods worsen in North Jakarta coastal residential areas

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 12/04/2009 3:54 PM

Seawater flooding, caused by high tides, known locally as “rob”, has been worsening in a number of residential areas in North Jakarta over the past few days as the city enters the wet season.

In Muara Baru, flooding is 30 centimeters deep, while main road Jl. RE Martadinata endures flooding up to 50 centimeters deep.

Sarman, a local resident in Muara Baru, told tempointeraktif.com on Friday that “rob”, which occurs monthly, also affected houses.

The local administration has been constructing a dike to prevent flooding in Muara Baru. Of the total 3.5 kilometer-long dike, only 800 meters has been finished.

The city administration has also planned to deploy a water pump to prevent water from the Ancol River from overflowing into Jl. RE Martadinata next year.

Related Article:

City to build dikes

City to build dikes

BERITAJAKARTA.COM — 11/5/2009 7:37:42 PM

To prevent the tidal wave in Marunda, North Jakarta, the Jakarta City Administration has planned to develop a permanent dike along northern beach. The development fund has been allocated in the arrangement of 2010 city budget as much as Rp 4.5 billion.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo hoped the development can be realized soon. The dike is important and useful to prevent the tidal wave attacking residential areas in northern beach such as in Community unit number 07 Cilincing, North Jakarta.

Tidal wave has attacked the area Thursday (11/5) at 12 pm. It is because the dike development in Kalibaru coast to east side of Marunda beach has not been done yet. The tidal wave had destroyed tens ha of shrimp embankment. “The dike is developed to anticipate the rainy season and climate change,” Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said.

Jakarta Head of Dept. of Public Works Budi Widiantoro added, the dike to prevent tidal wave will be developed in Pasar Ikan, Marunda, and Thousand Island. “The dike should be developed next year if the council approve the proposal,” Widiantoro added.

Fakhrurrozi for Jakarta Water Source Control Division explained the dike length is about 3.143 km. “The dike is not only built by city administration, but also by private,” he explained.

City administration will manage the dikes in Kamalmuara, Muarakarang, Pluit, Luarbatang, Cilincing and Marunda, while the private will manage the dikes in Pantai Indah Kaouk, Ancol, Pelabihan Indonesia, Bogasari factory, and Sunda Kelapa Harbor.

A giant dam will also be planned for a long term project. It will be developed around northern beach in North Jakarta with the height is almost the same height as Istiqlal Mosque.

Translator: rizky

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North Jakarta Allocates Rp25 Billion for Coastal Areas

Jakarta Predicted to be Underwater By 2012

City to fix flood system in response to tides, rains

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration says it will improve Jakarta's flood management system to tackle floods caused by rain, high tides and global warming.

"We will soon upgrade the existing flood management system making it suitable for our present environmental conditions," Governor Fauzi Bowo said Wednesday.

Fauzi said the administration had built embankments to deal with high tides but said they were only a short-term solution, as Jakarta's flood management system needed to be able to respond to global warming.

He said the administration would improve the dam system, which pumps water in the city out to sea or into canals throughout Jakarta.

"The Netherlands, for example, which has a lot of land beneath sea level, uses pumps to expel water back to sea which come on automatically if the sea level changes ... We haven't applied such a system yet," Fauzi said, as quoted by Antara.

A 2.2-meter-high tide submerged Pluit and Penjaringan subdistricts Monday, disrupting traffic and forcing residents to flee their homes in North Jakarta's coastal areas.

Fauzi said the city administration, through the Public Works Agency, would renovate several embankments in areas affected by the tides.

Previously, head of the Public Works Agency's water and coastal resources management unit, I Gde Nyoman Soewandhi, said the floods in North Jakarta were caused by the damaged Pluit and Muara Baru embankments which could not hold the high tide back.

Nyoman said Monday some 20 meters of the Pluit embankment was damaged due to the high tide. The Public Works Agency repaired the embankment using river stones reinforced with iron and sand sacks, but on Tuesday said other parts of the embankment had also burst.

According to Nyoman, the damage was related to the age of the construction -- almost 20 years.

In 2007, the administration allocated money from the budget to renovate and raise the Muara Angke embankment by 30 centimeters.

"We can't delay the construction. We must raise Pluit and Muara Baru embankments by next year, otherwise city dwellers living nearby will be in danger," he said.

The Central Jakarta administration is currently restoring river embankments to anticipate floods at the peak of the rainy season in December.

"The work is part of Fauzi Bowo's first-100-days agenda," Mayor Muhayat said.

The river embankments being restored are near Jl. Teuku Umar, Jl. Diponegoro (opposite Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital), Jl. Cikini Raya, Jl. RP Suroso and Jl. Cempaka Putih Indah, to name a few.

Some 10 areas prone to floods in the municipality are Matraman Dalam, Kali Pasir Kwitang, Kebon Kacang, Pejompongan, Jati Pinggir, Karang Anyarm, Mangga Dua, Gunung Sahari, Serdang and Cempaka Putih.

Muhayat also said his administration was currently preparing rubber dinghies, boats and life jackets to respond to floods. (tif)

High Waves to Peak on December 8

Wednesday, 28 November, 2007 | 13:03 WIB,

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Jakartans are asked to be on the alert as high waves are still a threat for the capital city’s northern coast.

The Indonesian Naval Hydrology and Oceanography Agency has estimated that high waves will reach a peak this December 8.

“These could be worse than the current ones,” said Major Saroso, Head of the Oceanography Section at the Hydrology and Oceanography Agency, yesterday (27/11).

According to Saroso, on December 8, the high waves will reach their highest point of the whole year.

The reason is the date coincides with the dark of the moon, when as usual, in the cycle of Qomariyah moon system, tides will rise.

In addition, the high tides will culminate because in early December, it is predicated that Jakarta will have rain.

Strong winds from south of the equator at speeds of 12 knots will also pull sea water towards the land.

“This will enlarge the water flow,” said Saroso.

During peak of high tides, according to Suroso, the height of waves may reach 2.2 meters.

High tides reaching 1.2 meters have hit the Jakarta coast since last week.

The high tides breached the sea water dike in Muara Baru, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, on Monday evening (26/11).

In a short period of time, sea water flooded almost the entire north and west parts of Jakarta.

So that sea water flooding does not happen again, next year Jakarta Provincial Government will build a dike of one kilometer long in Muara Baru.

“We propose a budget of Rp15 billion,” said Public Works Service Head, Wisnu Subagyo.

FERY FIRMANSYAH | RUDY PRASETYO | SUTARTO | AYU CIPTA