Dam Construction in Indonesia: 8 Dams to Be Tendered
Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works and Housing targets to complete the tender process for eight dams, worth a combined IDR 8.60 trillion (approx. USD $637 million) - all national strategic projects - by June 2016. Imam Santoso, Director of Dams at the Public Works Ministry, said one dam has already been tendered last week: the IDR 1.04 trillion Kuwil Kawangkoan Dam in North Sulawesi. Next week the government is set to tender the Leuwikeris Dam in West Java. The central government aims to tender a new dam project every two weeks up to June 2016.
Santoso added that 49 dam construction projects are considered national strategic projects by the Indonesian government. All these 49 projects are targeted to be completed by 2019. Of this total of 49 dams, 16 dam projects have already been tendered in 2014 and are currently being constructed. Another 13 dams have been tendered last year.
Construction of a dam is a complex process and therefore can take up to five years before being completed. In the past construction of dams in Indonesia have been blocked by land acquisition problems (this is a notorious problem in Southeast Asia's largest economy and has led to the delay or cancellation of many infrastructure projects in Indonesia). However, regarding the new dam projects Santoso emphasized that part of the land required to construct the dam has already been freed up before the project is tendered, implying that construction can start as soon as possible after the winner has been announced. However, Santoso's words also imply that there remain chunks of land that still need to be acquired (after a party has won the tender). This can still become a time-consuming and costly affair.
These eight dam construction tenders are open to private investors. However, based on the words uttered by Taufik Widjoyono, Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, it seems that state-owned enterprises are a more likely choice for the government. He added that if the tender is won by a state-owned enterprise, then it will need to partner with a private contractor for construction of the dam.
When construction of these eight dams is completed (according to plan), they will be capable of holding 4,070 m3 of water (for the irrigation of 38,400 hectares of agricultural land and for flood prevention). These dams will also be able to generate a combined 20.74 MWA of power.
Profiles of Eight soon-to-be-tendered Dams:
| Dam | Location | Volume (mln m3) |
Investment (IDR bln) |
| Rukoh | Aceh (Sumatra) | 128,66 | 553 |
| Sukoharjo | Lampung (Sumatra) | 46,00 | 1,000 |
| Kuwil Kawangkoan | North Minahasa (Sulawesi) | 23,37 | 1,044 |
| Ladongi | East Kolaka (Sulawesi) | 25,57 | 670 |
| Ciawi | Bogor (Java) | 6,45 | 1,200 |
| Sukamahi | Bogor (Java) | 1,68 | 893 |
| Leuwikeris | Ciamis (Java) | 67,74 | 1,128 |
| Cipanas | Sumedang (Java) | 190 | 2,140 |
Source: Bisnis Indonesia