On 25 Sept 2019, the IsDB RHI team visited sites in Bangka Belitung Province, where the National Slum Upgrading Project (ICDD-Ph IV) is being undertaken. This Community Driven Development (CDD) project is a flagship of the IsDB and ISFD, where the bank supports infrastructure and economic/livelihood development activities in over 4900 Villages (urban ward) across 115 cities in Indonesia. The mission was for the PIASR of the project.

The project aims to improve the people’s well-being in urban villages through slum upgrading and prevention by way of community-driven development and local government participation. More specifically, the project will: a) Improve community access to appropriate infrastructure in order to alleviate slums based on the 8 slum indicators; b) Promote collaboration with stakeholders through the empowerment of local governments, and c) Improve community welfare by promoting sustainable livelihoods.

The communities themselves planned, managed and constructed these infrastructure assets, such as small roads and bridges, waste treatment units, potable water wells, drainage channels, communal toilet and washing facilities, rehabilitation of health posts and small school, etc. This is one of the many ways IsDB contributes to the SDGs.

The project of the infrastructure that the RHI team visited included a 170m Villages road and another Villages road built through the narrow slum areas, along with drainage channels to prevent flooding and water stagnation. They were built by the community in 2019, and it took around only 1 - 3 months for each road to be built depending on the complexity.

The infrastructure built by the community have transformed the neighborhood environment and empowered the people. The team also visited the starting point of a large city level road and walkway construction, around 950 m in length, which is expected to upgrade the neighborhood and stimulate economic growth for the communities in the target locations. The team also met with various community members who expressed their deep appreciation for the positive changes brought on by the NSUP and they shared their aspirations on how they would like to capitalize on the infrastructure for their economic and social upliftment.