Prabowo sets five priorities for NTB after dam inauguration

Mataram, NTB (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto outlined five directives for the government and people of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to support national progress after inaugurating the Meninting Dam in West Lombok District on Friday (July 10).

NTB Governor Lalu Muhammad Iqbal noted in a statement on Saturday that the president conveyed the mandates directly to him just before departing the province for Jakarta.

“The five presidential directives are for NTB to strengthen unity, repay people’s trust with concrete work, ensure development delivers benefits to residents, enforce people-oriented leadership, and build clean governance with integrity,” he pointed out.​​​​​​​

Iqbal added that Prabowo also expressed delight at revisiting NTB and his eagerness to put greater effort into developing the province.

“The president’s wish to provide greater help with development in NTB reflects his commitment to strengthening synergy between the central government and the NTB administration in boosting projects that can directly improve people’s welfare,” he said.

He further emphasized that the president’s visit carried significance beyond a ceremonial occasion, describing it as proof of the government’s continued efforts to strengthen food security and improve living standards through infrastructure development, agricultural advancement, and good governance.

Prabowo on Friday inaugurated five dams across Indonesia from the Meninting Dam, which supplies 0.15 cubic meters of raw water per second to around 100,000 residents in NTB.

He linked the dam to efforts to improve irrigation, stressing the importance of ensuring adequate water supplies for farmland to help strengthen food security, a key priority in his national development agenda.

“Ensure farmers receive the water they need. Farmers produce our food. Without food, there is no nation,” he said.

The president also noted that the five newly inaugurated dams are expected to boost national rice production by one million metric tons.

Besides Meninting, the other facilities are the Sidan Dam in Bali, the Jlantah Dam in Karanganyar District, Central Java, and the Keureuto and Rukoh dams in Aceh.

Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono added that the reservoirs serve purposes beyond irrigation, helping protect communities from hydrometeorological disasters while offering potential for new and renewable energy generation.

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Translator: N. Imansyah, Tegar Nurfitra

Editor: Primayanti

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