VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The World Bank has bee committed to providng loan assistance worth US$ 1 billiondollars or around Rp15 trillion fpr  Indonesia in the reconstruction process, post-natural disasters in Lombok and Palu and strengthen long-term resilience. This long-term loan is a continuation of the results of the talks between Vice President Jusuf Kalla and the Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank Group, Kristalina Georgieva, who discussed the assistance agreement for Indonesia. Kristalina Georgieva in her written statement quoted by Antara on Sunday (10/14) said that the Indonesian government's efforts to restore affected areas were very good. The loan package includes giving cash to 150,000 poor families affected in natural disasters for periods of six months to a year. This social security scheme is designed to strengthen the local economy and create jobs during the recovery period and prevent long-term damage to human capital. This one billion US dollar package can also be used for disaster recovery programs to finance public facilities and other important infrastructure. Affected infrastructure that can utilize the assistance, including hospitals, schools, bridges, highways, toll roads and water supply facilities. In addition, the assistance can strengthen monitoring and early warning systems, strengthen the reconstruction process of houses and rebuild the infrastructure and service environment.Previously Vice President Jusuf Kalla revealed that the loan tenor from the World Bank for disaster management could reach 35 years, so it would not burden the government. In addition to providing loan or funding assistance, the World Bank also contributed US $ 5 million for technical assistancein the form of grants, to ensure that the reconstruction process is carried out in the near future.The World Bank estimates losses for geospatial damage and infrastructure, buildings and houses affected by the tsunami in Palu reached 531 million US dollars or 8.1 trillion rupiah. The estimate does not include the calculation of casualties, loss of land or economic disruption due to lost livelihoods.Meanwhile Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the commitment from the World Bank could strengthen efforts to increase resilience and improve the handling of natural disasters. However, he ensured, the disbursement of aid funds and their utilization must go through a discussion process with the parliament.