Source: European Commission (EC)

Date: 31 March, 2006

The European Commission has approved a further contribution of €118 million to support rehabilitation and long-term reconstruction in Indonesia's Aceh province following the Tsunami. This will bring the Commission's total post-Tsunami aid package for Aceh to €207 million. The aid supports projects that are rebuilding houses and restoring community infrastructure. The funds are channelled through a multi-donor trust fund for reconstruction led by the World Bank with the European Commission as the largest contributor and co-chair. The Fund was set up in order to rationalise the plethora of projects and donors working in the country in the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the Commissioner for External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy, said "As the largest donor to the multi-donor trust fund, the Commission contributes to coordination between donors and the Government of Indonesia on re-development and peace building in Aceh. The aim is to make Aceh a safer place for all those who suffered in the tsunami". She added: "In the longer term we will adopt our approach from supporting individual projects to providing the authorities with the support they need to take greater ownership of the work."

Fifteen countries and organisations have pledged a total of around €440 million to the fund for the reconstruction of Aceh and North Sumatra. 85% of this comes from EU countries. The Multi-Donor Trust Fund is governed by a structure that reflects the interests of key stakeholders (national and local government agencies, donors, civil society, the UN system, international NGOs, etc). Some examples of the projects financed include:

- Land titling project: identifying who owns lands and issuing land titles through recovery of land records, establishment of a land database and community land inventory. This has resulted in the rehabilitation of the land administration system through Aceh and Nias Islands;

- Community Development project: this provides block grants directly to about 3,000 villages to support the restoration of community infrastructures;

- Urban Community Development Project: this provides block grants directly to urban villages to rehabilitate and develop community-based infrastructure;

- Housing and Settlement Project: in complement to urban and community development projects, this project will contribute to building or repairing about 25,000 houses over a two-year period through a community-driven decision-making mechanism; Tsunami Recovery Waste Management projects;

- Technical assistance to Aceh's reconstruction agency (BRR): support to BRR to implement its mandate by supporting a facility to provide the necessary technical expertise for the reconstruction process as well as to help co-ordinate international and national assistance; (Helping to provide Aceh's reconstruction agency with the necessary technical expertise for the reconstruction process and for coordinating international and national assistance).

Smaller projects include the rehabilitation of the forest and environment, rural roads, disaster response logistics, etc.
For more information:

IP/05/1025: Post-Tsunami reconstruction: Commission finances first long-term activities in Aceh, Indonesia.

IP/05/1115: Aceh: Commission's contribution to the peace process and post tsunami reconstruction (9th September 2005).