JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Sumatra island will require 51.82 trillion rupiah ($3.11 billion) in reconstruction and recovery funds following a series of deadly floods, senior government officials said.
The death toll from the cyclone-induced floods and landslides reached 950 as of Monday, with 274 people still missing, according to official data. The storms also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia.
Suharyanto, head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, said that the recovery funds needed across the three provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra may still increase as the agency continues to calculate how much damage has been done.
Among the three provinces affected, Aceh needs the most funds, amounting to a total of 25.41 trillion rupiah, Suharyanto said at a cabinet meeting led by President Prabowo Subianto in Aceh province late on Sunday.
North Sumatra and West Sumatra will require 12.88 trillion and 13.52 trillion rupiah respectively, he added.
The reconstruction process will soon begin in some areas in North Sumatra and West Sumatra, which have recovered relatively well, he said.
“So, areas that are already in better condition can start the reconstruction process. We will relocate people living in evacuation centers to temporary houses,” Suharyanto said without providing a timeline.
The temporary houses are 40 square-meter plywood structures built by the government for people affected by natural disasters.
“In the next phase, they will be relocated into permanent houses, built by the housing ministry,” he added.
Responding to the initial estimated recovery cost, Prabowo said his calculations were “similar,” without elaborating whether he will approve the spending or not.
“The point is we have the capacity and we will do it meticulously and do our best to manage it,” Prabowo said.
Prabowo also said that conditions in some areas remained serious, with rice fields, dams and a large number of houses especially affected.
“The local leaders reported that there are quite a number of houses that we must help rebuild,” he said.
“In some places, there are still challenges,” he said, adding that the distribution of medication and clothes to the residents must also become a priority.
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Indonesia says more than $3 billion in recovery funds required after Sumatra floods
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Indonesia says more than $3 billion in recovery funds required after Sumatra floods
- Death toll from the cyclone-induced floods and landslides reached 950 as of Monday
- The storms also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia
China raises defense budget by 7 percent for 2026: official report
BEIJING: China said on Thursday its defense budget, the world’s second largest after the United States, will increase by seven percent in 2026, in line with expectations but slightly below last year’s.
Beijing plans to spend 1.9096 trillion yuan ($276.8 billion) on defense — around three times less than the US military budget.
The increase in military spending for the year was announced in a finance ministry budget report that was published on the sidelines of the annual “Two Sessions” political conclave.
It marks a degree of continuity as Beijing pursues a sweeping anti-graft purge of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that included the ousting of top general Zhang Youxia in January.
Analysts told AFP the budget would finance military salary increases, training, drills around Taiwan, cyberwarfare capabilities and advanced equipment purchases, among other things.
China has maintained a steady increase in military spending of around seven to eight percent each year since 2016.
The United States is the world’s biggest military spender, shelling out $997 billion in 2024 compared with China’s $314 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
China claims its defense policy is solely aimed at protecting its territory, which it says includes self-ruled Taiwan.
It has only one military base abroad, in Djibouti, in contrast to the several hundred held by the United States.
However, China’s military buildup is fueling an arms race in Asia and prompting some countries, particularly those with territorial disputes with China, to draw closer to Washington.
Beijing plans to spend 1.9096 trillion yuan ($276.8 billion) on defense — around three times less than the US military budget.
The increase in military spending for the year was announced in a finance ministry budget report that was published on the sidelines of the annual “Two Sessions” political conclave.
It marks a degree of continuity as Beijing pursues a sweeping anti-graft purge of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that included the ousting of top general Zhang Youxia in January.
Analysts told AFP the budget would finance military salary increases, training, drills around Taiwan, cyberwarfare capabilities and advanced equipment purchases, among other things.
China has maintained a steady increase in military spending of around seven to eight percent each year since 2016.
The United States is the world’s biggest military spender, shelling out $997 billion in 2024 compared with China’s $314 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
China claims its defense policy is solely aimed at protecting its territory, which it says includes self-ruled Taiwan.
It has only one military base abroad, in Djibouti, in contrast to the several hundred held by the United States.
However, China’s military buildup is fueling an arms race in Asia and prompting some countries, particularly those with territorial disputes with China, to draw closer to Washington.
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