Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla inaugurated the construction of a water management system in Umbulan, Pasuruan District, East Java Province, on Thursday.

"This project is really remarkable, as it will require a lengthy construction process, with considerable funding. The process was long enough to bring together some of the interests," he noted during a speech at the inauguration ceremony for the construction of the water management system.

He stated that the Umbulan Water Management System project that was initiated four decades ago was one of the important projects for providing access to clean and healthy drinking water for the people of East Java.

Through the project, more people can get access to clean water in East Java. The water treatment system will provide drinking water to 1.3 million people in five districts in East Java Province.

Kalla remarked that the water treatment system will be constructed under the government-to-business cooperation scheme, which has brought together the interests of the community, region, state, and investors. Hence, sustainability of the water treatment system needs to be maintained both in terms of the water springs and the economic domain.

East Java Governor Soekarwo, in his speech, expressed gratitude for the construction of the Umbulan Water Treatment System in order to meet the drinking water needs of the community in East Java.

According to Soekarwo, the water springs in Umbulan are one of the sources of best quality of drinking water in the world.

Meanwhile, the Umbulan Water Treatment System has a planned capacity of providing four thousand liters per second of clean water to serve 310,000 household connections in East Java Province.

The water treatment project, with an investment of more than Rp2 trillion, is targeted for completion by 2019.

Local water supply companies in Surabaya City, Pasuruan City, Sidoarjo City, Gresik City, and Pasuruan District in East Java Province will manage and distribute the drinking water in their respective areas.

The East Java provincial government and PT Meta Adhya Tirta Umbulan are the parties responsible for the project and will serve as the business entities that will complete the construction.

The Umbulan Water Treatment System is a national strategic project under the government-to-business cooperation scheme based on the mandate of Presidential Regulation Number 3 of 2016 on the Acceleration of the Implementation of National Strategic Projects.

It is the first project under the Viability Gap Fund scheme.

The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution and Minister of Public Works and Housing Basuki Hadimuljono.

Reported by Muhammad Arief Iskandar

(M052/INE)

EDITED BY INE.

Editor: Suryanto
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