Lack of safe water imperils Indonesia's quest for sustainable economic growth

The Indonesian government's massive infrastructure development program designed to support a strong economic growth in the next five years is being stymied by lack of clean water facilities.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago with 17,500 islands and home to over 238 million people, has lured private participation in many sectors, the private players cannot take part in the management of the country's water resources.

With the revocation of the 2004 Water Law by the Constitutional Court in February 2015, only state firms and village-owned enterprises are allowed to set up water facilities. But the only state water utility, PT PDAM, has limited capacity and coverage of the country's expanding remote areas.

With the target of an average GDP growth of over 7 percent annually within five years, huge financing will be needed for the construction of basic infrastructure projects, leaving only a small portion for water facilities.

The good news is that some local communities and villagers have taken their own initiatives to set up such facilities with the active support and assistance from the government.

In Bongas village of Subang District in West Java province, the 45-year-old Mirbaiti smiled and looked happy when asked about the benefits that the villages got from the water facility. "I am glad, because I can now take a bath and cook with clean and safe water. Before that, my family depended on the dirty water from the river that made us sick with skin diseases and diarrhea. Now, we have safe water," she told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Separately, in Cipelang village of Sumedang District, Oom Kartamajaya, a top official at a body managing the water and sanitation facility in the village, disclosed with great enthusiasm that his village has been free from kidney diseases since most of the villagers have now enjoyed access to clean piped- in water. "Before this facility, many villagers had kidney problems because of the contaminated water from shallow wells around the river that had high salinity and polluted with chemical compounds. We had a series of outbreaks of kidney diseases. Now we are free," Kartamajaya said.

The two villages are example of strong participation and initiatives of villagers in building water facility using some of their own funds and human resources with assistance from the authorities and the World Bank Group's Water and Sanitation Program.

The World Bank Group has cooperated with local governments in securing technical and financial assistance from rural development banks.

As there are still many nearby villages and other remote areas in Indonesia facing similar problems, such solution is expected to spread to them soon.

With many areas having poor infrastructure, the authorities are forced to prioritize basic facilities such as roads, buildings, airports and others.

"From our side, this program is helpful. Our budget is limited, " said Subagio, head of development planning board (BAPEDA) in Sumedang District.

He said that it is necessary to further develop projects on water facilities through villagers' initiative and participation.

"Development of such clean water facility is badly needed. Here people participation is high, and we provide financial stimulant to help them out," said Subagio.

Indonesia, along with other countries, will commemorate the World's Water Day on March 22. About half of Indonesia's population with no access to clean water lives in remote villages, many of them suffering from water-linked disease and facing high infant mortality.

The Indonesian government expects 40 million people to get access to clean waters by 2019.

The local banking sector sees a huge potential in providing financing for water-facility projects.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who assumed office on Oct. 20, 2014, plans to build massive infrastructure to pursue the government's target of an average of gross domestic product of above 7 percent annually within the next five years.