Bart Schultz
In early 2024, I submitted a short article about the Dadahup Polder in South Kalimantan. In this article, I mentioned that during the coronavirus period, I had been involved in zoom meetings related to the renovation of this polder to function as a food estate for Indonesia's new capital in Kalimantan.
Mid 2024 I was invited by the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works to spend a week in Indonesia with two former colleagues to give presentations on lowland development in the Netherlands and worldwide, and to observe and discuss the progress of the Dadahup polder renovation project. I enjoyed this opportunity and in autumn 2024 returned to Indonesia.
Upon arrival at Jakarta Airport in the evening, we were politely met by an employee of the Ministry of Public Works, who brought us to the hotel. When we drove from the airport to the hotel, we almost immediately encountered a massive traffic jam, making the traffic jams in the Netherlands seem like child's play. The city of Jakarta had about 11 million inhabitants, and they were apparently all on the move. Media reports suggest that Jakarta is being relocated to the new capital in Kalimantan, but for that capital the target is 2 million inhabitants by 2040. Jakarta, with its suburbs, will have significantly more inhabitants by then, so the situation won't change much. Meanwhile, the city continues to subside, which doesn't make the situation any better.
The next day in Jakarta, we gave presentations on lowland development in the Netherlands and worldwide to managers from the Ministry of Public Works. We also heard about Indonesia's upcoming plans for its own lowland development, which were quite extensive. So far, the government had developed some 2 million hectares, primarily for rice cultivation, and there were serious plans to add a similar amount. This was only really possible in the very extensive lowland areas. In short, an interesting meeting for us as well.
In the evening, we flew to Banjarmasin, Kalimantan. Since we had some time left, I asked if we could drive past the Pluit Polder (2,080 hectares) to see the pumping station and the coast. This is one of the oldest polders in Jakarta, originally developed with involvement of Dutch specialists. We were driven to the Pluit Polder and saw the pumping station, which, after a flood, had a capacity of 49 cubic metres per second, which equates to almost 20 centimetres per day across the polder's surface. This is a considerable amount, but certainly required for an almost entirely urban polder in Indonesia's climate.
The next day, we had our three introductions again, but this time for the Ministry's technical staff in the regional lowland areas, primarily in Kalimantan, South Sumatra, and Sulawesi. They had asked me to explain exactly how the technical aspects and planning of the construction, management, and maintenance of the polders in the Netherlands were arranged. I tried to give them an overview, which they consider a good example for Indonesia. I emphasized the importance of sound flood protection standards and proper operation and maintenance, as there are still significant shortcomings in both areas in most countries.
At the end of the day, they were working in small groups to develop a specific aspect of water management or flood protection for the Dadahup Polder, that we would visit the next day. The results would be presented and discussed after two days. I was curious to see what we would see.
We did spent the entire day on a field trip to the Dadahup Polder. It was a remarkable experience for me. I first visited this area with Ministry officials in 1995, almost thirty years ago. Back then, there was almost nothing, and we discussed the principles of the reclamation and development of the polder. It was then constructed, but fell into disrepair due to political problems. As mentioned above, the polder was being renovated.
We first received a brief explanation from the director of the Ministry's Department responsible for the work in the area. Then we focused on the upstream side of the polder, as that is where the risk of things going wrong and flooding is greatest. The dike, the inlet and outlet structures, the distribution structures, and the canals looked good, and work was underway to get the rice fields back on track. Furthermore, we were told that there was significant flooding in the region last December, but that the polder itself was not flooded. It was good to see all this, and we travelled back to Banjarmasin satisfied.
On the final day, the participants, divided into four groups, had to further develop a component of the polder system and to formulate recommendations. They worked hard on this, and the presentations and discussions were enjoyable. Feeling satisfied, I boarded the plane for the return flight to Jakarta and then on to the Netherlands.
