Govt to disburse last quake recovery fund installment

The Jakarta Post | Sat, 01/16/2010 3:47 PM

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said Saturday that the government was ready to disburse the remaining recovery funds for quake-stricken areas in South Sumatra and West Java, tempointeraktif.com has reported.

Agung said that the last installments of the funds, Rp 1.2 trillion (US$130 million) for West Java and Rp 1 trillion for South Sumatra, were ready to be disbursed in January or February following a recent approval by the National Disaster Handling Agency (BNPB) and the House of Representatives.

With the last installments, both of the provinces would receive a total of Rp 6 trillion in recovery funds, he said.

Last year, West Java was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on Sept. 2, which destroyed or damaged more than 260,000 building in 14 regencies and municipalities across West Java.

A 7.6-magnitude quake later hit South Sumatra in Sept. 30, destroying or damaging more than 270,000 buildings.