Gobel: Bulango Ulu Dam can boost Gorontalo's economy

Ceknricek.com– Rachmat Gobel, Member of Commission VI DPR RI of Gorontalo Constituency, said that the construction of Bulango Ulu Dam and Reservoir, Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo Province, will boost the economy of Gorontalo Province.

“The condition is that the regional government immediately adapts its program to the existence of these reservoirs and dams,” he said on Sunday, December 14, 2025.

He conveyed this during a visit to the construction site of the Bulango Ulu Dam and Reservoir. This is his umpteenth visit. Gobel oversaw this project from the planning and proposal phase during the Joko Widodo administration through lobbying the DPR RI to holding discussions with the PUPR Ministry and other relevant ministries.

When construction was still in its early stages, he also conducted site visits. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, this project was almost removed from the National Strategic Project (PSN). At that time, PUPR Minister Basuki Hadi Mulyono said there would be a cabinet meeting that would evaluate all PSNs and then some would be maintained and others stopped.

The government is refocusing due to budgetary constraints. However, Gobel assured that the Bulango Ulu Dam is very strategic for Gorontalo, which is ranked among the poorest provinces in Indonesia. To reinforce his attitude, he met with Basuki, he even met directly with President Jokowi.

In the end, this project still entered PSN. Therefore, before terminating his position, Gobel specifically asked Jokowi to come to Bulango Ulu. On his way to Gorontalo, Jokowi called Gobel to say he would accommodate his request. Gobel, who was in Japan, hurriedly returned to Indonesia and went straight to Gorontalo. He was able to welcome Jokowi and accompany him to Bulango Ulu, as well as bring him back to the airport. Today, the construction of the Bulango Ulu Dam and Reservoir has reached 91 percent.

Ali Rahmat, head of Sulawesi River Regional Office 2, said this reservoir will be one of the largest in Indonesia, ranking around 25th out of around 200 reservoirs in Indonesia. This reservoir has a depth of 75 meters, a pool area of ​​549.11 hectares, a water storage capacity of 93.75 million cubic meters, and a cost of more than IDR 2.46 trillion.

This reservoir will be able to irrigate rice fields up to 4,940 hectares, generate electricity from hydropower up to 4.96 megawatts, electricity from solar energy up to 80 megawatts and reduce flooding by up to 84.62 percent.

“If the benefits of this reservoir can be maximized, then this reservoir can contribute to economic growth in Gorontalo Province by 4 to 5 percent, so that with the current economic growth conditions of Gorontalo, the future economic growth of Gorontalo has the potential to be above 10 percent,” he said.

To be able to maximize the economic potential of the Bulango Ulu reservoir, Gobel said, local governments in Gorontalo must be able to adapt to the potential that can be maximized from this reservoir. For example, by building secondary irrigation canals, creating new rice fields, establishing freshwater fishing enterprises, organizing tourism zones and developing MSMEs that support all of this. It is for this reason that Gobel asked the regional head of Gorontalo to immediately develop suitable land use planning regulations and land conservation regulations.

In the upstream river area, there are about nine rivers, especially the upstream Mongiilo River as the main river, whose preservation must be maintained. There will be a conflict of interest here with mining and agricultural issues, particularly corn, upstream of the river. But if land conservation is not carried out, the water flow will decrease and the reservoir will not be optimal. The natural disasters in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh should serve as a very important lesson, he said.

Gobel said the Bulango Ulu Reservoir was a good opportunity to change the socio-economic landscape of Gorontalo. Poverty will be eliminated, especially thanks to the economic potential of the Bulango Ulu reservoir, he said.

Based on historical documents, said Ridwan Monoarfa, Deputy Chairman of the DPRD of Gorontalo Province, in 1921, the Dutch colonial government built the Lomaya Dam, namely an irrigation dam for agriculture.

With the construction of the Lomaya Dam, many new rice fields were created and the economic income of the Gorontalo population increased rapidly. At this time, Gorontalo managed to become a rice barn and supplier for the areas around Gorontalo. “So the construction of reservoirs and dams as an economic lever is something that has been proven in the history of Gorontalo,” he said.