LocationsUNDP Indonesia Resident Representative Norimasa Shimomura and Burkhard Hins, Director, Mobility and Infrastructure, East Asia and the Pacific, KfW tour the Labuhan Lombok auxiliary health facility which was launched on 29 Nov, 2021. Over 35,000 residents will benefit from the facility which was reconstructed by UNDP’s PETRA project with funding from the Government of Germany via its development bank, KfW.
PRESS RELEASE
KfW wraps up a key visit to witness UNDP’s vital projects in quake-hit Lombok.
Lombok, 2 December 2021 - Germany’s development bank, KfW has wrapped up a two-day visit to Indonesia’s quake-hit Lombok island where the Bank funded the rebuilding of vital infrastructure projects by the United Nations Development Prorgramme (UNDP) and the provincial Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) government.
The visit by Mr. Burkhard Hins, Director, Mobility and Infrastructure, East Asia and the Pacific, was to attend the launching of a new community health centre (Puskesmas) in Labuhan Lombok and a vocational school in North Lombok. The school was partly destroyed in the August 2018 quakes. UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative, Norimasa Shimomura accompanied the visit.
Both facilities are part of UNDP’s Programme for Earthquake and Tsunami Infrastructure Reconstruction Assistance (PETRA) project in NTB and Central Sulawesi province, also hit by a separate quake in 2018 The Project has been working in the two provinces since 2018.
Approximately 80 people attended the launching ceremony of the Labuhan Lombok puskesmas in a ceremony which followed physical distancing protocols, where all guests were required to wear masks, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Presided by East NTB Head of Regency, Mr H. Sukiman Azmy., the Kfw and UNDP delegation was welcomed by colourful traditional performance and music.
During his visit, Mr. Hins praised the progress of the infrastructure projects in Lombok.
“So here we have the ideal situation - there was a strong commitment by the Indonesian side. We have with UNDP, a professional partner on site well established in Indonesia, well connected to all the players involved. And this helped a lot to get this done in a rather short period of time,” said Mr. Hins.
UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative Norimasa Shimomura and Burkhard Hins, Director, Mobility and Infrastructure, East Asia and the Pacific, KfW speak to the principal of SMK Pemenang during their visit. The vocational school specializes in hospitality management, one of the main forms of livelihood in the region. 426 students will benefit from the school which was reconstructed by UNDP’s PETRA project funded by the German Development Bank, KfW.
Mr Shimomura commended the strong involvement of women in the infrastructure projects.
“I’m heartened to note that the reconstruction work activities included a mix of both local and migrant workers including 36 women who were involved in both skilled and semi-skilled operations. It is imperative that we take a gender-inclusive approach – not just including women in decision making and gathering of input, but also in the construction phase,” said Mr. Shimoura.
Mr. Hins echoed the importance of gender representation in the projects, saying it’s an crucial issue for KfW.
The new health center in Labuhan Lombok will serve approximately 48,167 people and the reconstructed school houses around 426 students.
.In addition to the setbacks caused by the natural disasters, both regions are also suffering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current travel restrictions have also hampered the logistics supply to both regions.
In 2018 Indonesia was struck by two particularly severe natural disasters: a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on 5 August and, less than 8 weeks later- on 28 September-a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, followed by a tsunami and a rare phenomenon known as ‘soil liquefaction’, in Central Sulawesi
Media Contacts
Christian B. Usfinit Team Leader, UNDP Resilience and Reconstruction Unit
Christian.usfinit@undp.org
Tomi Soetjipto, UNDP Communication Specialist Suryo.tomi@undp.org
Ranjit Jose UNDP Communications Advocacy Specialist ranjit.jose@undp.org
