BNPB Commitment and Lintas Utara Road Plan Shape Manggarai Barat Quake Recovery

Labuan Bajo — Manggarai Barat Regent Edistasius Endi has told local legislators that the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) is showing a firmer commitment to post-earthquake reconstruction in the regency, but detailed funding mechanisms and disbursement schedules are still being worked out.

Speaking at the 19th plenary meeting of the Manggarai Barat Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Thursday, 27 August 2026, Endi outlined how reconstruction in Manggarai Barat will follow the end of the 14‑day emergency response period after the 15 August magnitude‑7.7 earthquake that struck parts of East Nusa Tenggara.

According to the official Manggarai Barat government news service Info Mabar, Endi said BNPB had indicated it would take a more consistent approach to reconstruction and that discussions were under way on how national and local funds could be used once emergency operations conclude.

Info Mabar reported that BNPB’s commitment and the regency’s follow‑up were among the issues Endi raised in the plenary session, which focused on the budget committee’s report on the proposed 2026 revised regional budget.

Reconstruction linked to emergency phase

In a separate briefing carried by Info Mabar on 25 August, Endi stressed that reconstruction of damaged homes and public facilities in Manggarai Barat would begin only after the 14‑day emergency period ends.

He explained that central government funds of Rp12.5 billion and Rp20 billion, initially allocated for emergency response, could be used for reconstruction of residents’ homes if there is a remaining balance once urgent needs have been met, in line with national rules.

Nationally, BNPB has reported tens of thousands of damaged houses across East Nusa Tenggara, and said it is accelerating rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes for the affected areas.

Lintas Utara road decision and feasibility studies

During the 27 August plenary session, Endi also announced that an official decision letter had been issued for handling the Lintas Utara road corridor, referred to locally as “Liturah”.

He said the package carries a budget of Rp84.167 billion and covers roughly 10 kilometres of road, with the exact scope to be adjusted to conditions in the field.

Endi added that the regency government was proposing funds in the 2026 revised budget to prepare feasibility‑study documents for infrastructure projects so that they can be aligned with BNPB’s rehabilitation and reconstruction timetable and avoid delays in future planning.

According to the Info Mabar report, the longer‑term infrastructure framework for the area includes bridge construction over several years, and the regent warned that projects risk being rescheduled or dropped from consideration if the required feasibility documents are not completed in 2026.

Scale of housing damage

Separate national and local reporting has pointed to a large number of damaged homes in NTT following the August earthquake.

BNPB data cited by a national news outlet state that, as of 24 August 2026, 77,912 houses in East Nusa Tenggara had recorded damage, including 24,597 classified as heavily damaged, 18,537 moderately damaged and 34,778 lightly damaged.

Another report quoting Endi said that, based on preliminary figures, Manggarai Barat alone had registered damage to 10,757 houses, covering heavy, moderate and light categories.

Endi has said that the regency will work with the central government to repair those homes, but the detailed schedule and exact funding channel for reconstruction in Manggarai Barat have not yet been fully set out in public statements.

While the local government is signalling that BNPB will support reconstruction and that road and bridge projects such as the Lintas Utara package are moving into planning, publicly available information so far describes planned allocations and policy commitments, rather than funds already disbursed or construction contracts signed.

Sources

• Info Mabar – BNPB Nyatakan Komitmen Lebih Konsisten Tangani Rekonstruksi Pasca Gempa di Mabar
• KataNTT – BNPB Percepat Rehab-Rekon 77.912 Rumah Rusak Akibat Gempa M7,7 di NTT
• Investortrust – Bupati Manggarai Barat Pastikan Segera Perbaiki 10.757 yang Rumah Rusak Akibat Gempat NTT