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ADB Disburses US$6 Million Grant for Aceh and Nias
Thursday, 15 December, 2005 | 01:58 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has disbursed a US$6 million grant for recovery activities in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Nias, North Sumatra, following last year’s tsunami disaster.

The official signing of the grant was carried out by ADB Country Director Edgar A. Cua and Mulia Nasution, director general for the state treasury at the Indonesian department of finance, on Wednesday (14/12).

Nasution said that the US$6 million grant came from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) and is to cover several sectors.

The amount of US$2.5 million has been allocated for recovery activities related to the living standards of people of Aceh and Nias, including providing facilities and infrastructure for fishing communities, particularly the women in these communities.

A further US$1.5 million will be used to rehabilitate and reconstruct land that has been destroyed.

“Eighty percent of mangrove land was destroyed by the tsunami. This is the key to the ecosystem in the area,” stated Cua.

The remaining US$2 million has been allocated to Indonesian Department of Public Works for the construction of anti-earthquake houses.

“It is expected that this grant will help the government in constructing 115,000 houses in Aceh and Nias,” Cua stated. (Suryani Ika Sari-Tempo News Room)