KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has estimated that Rp 22 trillion (US$1.45 billion) is needed to fully recover Palu, Donggala, Sigi and surrounding areas from the 7.4-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck on Sept. 28.

“[The figure] is a rough estimation based on Bappenas' field study,” Bappenas regional development planner Suprayoga Hadi said on Wednesday.

He explained that the estimate was generated from the losses affecting the five priority areas of recovery efforts: housing, urban and transportation infrastructure, social rehabilitation, businesses and inter-sectoral government services.

He underlined that the funds needed for rebuilding disaster-affected areas could be smaller if the government focused only on the critical aspects in each sector. He did not provide any additional details.

The government has estimated that the damage and destruction in Palu, Donggala and Sigi was much more severe than the post-disaster conditions in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, which was hit by two earthquakes in August. The estimated losses in Lombok was Rp 15.4 trillion, of which the government had allocated Rp 12 trillion for post-disaster recovery efforts.

During a Cabinet meeting on recovering Lombok and Palu on Tuesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructed his ministers to immediately commence recovery and reconstruction efforts, including disbursing funds for rebuilding homes and restoring public services.

Suprayoga said the Public Works and Housing Ministry had started the process of recovering the worst-hit residential areas early. “[The recovery] is targeted for completion in one to two months,” he added.

Editor: Wahyu T.Rahmawati