Pasaman rebuilds schools, roads to restore life after disaster

Bogor, W Java (ANTARA) - At SMPN 2 Rao Utara, students begin each school day in borrowed classrooms at a nearby elementary school while workers rebuild their school building, damaged by last year's natural disaster.

The host school has opened spare classrooms to its neighbors, allowing its own pupils to continue lessons as usual while displaced students keep learning during the reconstruction period.

The school was one of five recovery sites visited on Thursday, October 29, by a task force team overseeing post-disaster reconstruction across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

The team was led by Marine Corps Col. Daniel Setiawan and included Gunawan Setiadi of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency and expert Muhammad Teguh Ariffaiz Nasution, according to a report received by ANTARA on Tuesday evening.

Pasaman Deputy District Head H. Parulian accompanied the delegation, along with district officials responsible for public works, education, health, and disaster management, connecting national oversight with agencies handling recovery locally.

Across the district, the inspection covered transport links, education facilities, and a community health center, reflecting how rebuilding essential services can help residents regain mobility and restore everyday routines.

In Rao Utara, the team inspected the completed Air Sopan Bridge at Muara Sitobu, a key crossing on the road linking Rao with Padang Lawas District in neighboring North Sumatra.

The Pasaman government said the bridge rehabilitation, financed through 2026 regional transfer funds, had reached 100 percent completion, restoring an important transport and economic link.

The crossing connects residents of Rao and Rao Utara with Padang Lawas, allowing people to travel between communities and helping agricultural produce move toward the North Sumatra border.

Supporting work around the bridge was still being completed, the task force report said, underscoring that reopening a crossing does not mean every part of recovery is finished.

"The presence of the central task force team on the ground gives a major boost to accelerating our region's recovery," Parulian said in a statement from the Pasaman communications office.

He said restoring access all the way to the North Sumatra border had eased residents' movement and helped agricultural distribution resume, giving practical value to repairs beyond the bridge itself.

Setiawan said the team's visit was designed to ensure post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction programs were completed on time, met quality standards, and reached the people intended to benefit.

He added that cooperation between central and regional governments should result in resilient infrastructure, with long-term benefits for residents' safety, welfare, and ability to withstand future disasters.

Protecting what has been rebuilt

At the Air Sopan Bridge, however, inspectors identified a fresh concern: recent flooding had shifted the river channel toward the road, potentially exposing the restored route to erosion.

To reduce that risk, the team recommended river normalization to guide the water back toward its main channel and protect the road from damage that could disrupt access again.

The recommendation reflects a broader challenge for disaster recovery: infrastructure must be rebuilt to function now and protected against the natural forces that could damage it in future seasons.

In Tigo Nagari Subdistrict, asphalt paving was underway on the Ladang Panjang-Parit Batu road, a reconstruction project managed by the Pasaman Public Works Agency.

The project has a contract value of Rp4.8 billion, or about US$264,000, and is part of the district's 2026 reconstruction program.

Inspectors met the contractor at the site to review road-shoulder preparation, asphalt quality, and the target completion date, focusing on details that can determine the road's durability.

Learning goes on

At SMPN 2 Rao Utara, workers were installing lightweight steel roof frames as the school underwent rehabilitation through the Education Ministry's school revitalization program.

The project is funded by Rp1.57 billion, or about US$86,000, from the 2026 state budget and covers six classrooms, furniture, science and computer laboratories, student toilets, and school grounds.

The school's own development committee is carrying out the work, with legal assistance from the Pasaman District Prosecutor's Office to strengthen oversight and accountability during construction.

When Setiawan met students temporarily attending classes at the nearby elementary school, he urged them to remain enthusiastic about learning despite the disruption and keep their future ambitions high.

He encouraged the students to continue to university and eventually return home to help develop their region, while Principal Bermawi Nasution expressed hope that construction would proceed smoothly.

The task force asked workers to accelerate roofing and classroom finishing before the rainy season so students could return soon; it also visited Koto Rajo health center where repainting was complete.

With about two months remaining in the 2026 fiscal year, the team urged the district and relevant ministries to finish outstanding work on schedule, without compromising construction quality.

It singled out road surfaces, school roofing, and riverbanks for attention before the rainy season, when flooding and erosion could threaten recently restored infrastructure and delay the recovery process.

The team's findings will be submitted to the task force chief for follow-up, according to its report, as local and national officials continue work to turn reconstruction into long-term recovery.

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