Australia supports better urban sanitation in Indonesia

Antara News, Tuesday, October 26, 2010 11:04 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesians in 22 cities will soon have access to better sanitation facilities thanks to support from Australia that will help local governments improve their sanitation programs, according to a media release from the Australian Embassy here on Tuesday.

Heads of the 22 district governments gathered in Jakarta on Tuesday to sign agreements for grants provided by Australia totalling A$6 million. These grants will allow the governments to invest in urban wastewater sewerage and treatment; connections to sewerage systems; communal septic tanks; public toilets; solid waste collection services; and solid waste recycle and reuse facilities.

AusAID`s Infrastructure Counsellor, Ben Power, said the project rewards district governments that have demonstrated a strong commitment to better sanitation infrastructure.

"Helping Indonesia improve sanitation is a key priority for Australia,"Power said.

"We are proud to be involved in a project that focuses on poor urban households and that will lead to better health and safer environments."

Through the new agreements district governments will have access to grants from Australia ranging from IDR 500 million to IDR 4.8 billion. The size of the grant will be determined by how much the district governments allocate for sanitation in their 2010 budgets.

The 22 cities to receive grants are: Probolinggo, Jombang, Purworejo, Yogyakarta, Solok, Deli Serdang, Makassar, Banjarmasin, Malang, Tegal, Cimahi, Jambi, Banda Aceh, Medan, Bukit Tinggi, Pekanbaru, Pekalongan, Blitar, Batu, Ambon, Jayapura, and Denpasar.

Australia is committed to helping Indonesia make faster progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal to increase access to clean water and better sanitation.