"After I went there and saw the true condition of the Cisadane, it’s clear that the [water] level is nearly at the top of the riverbank," Joko said on 25 January 2014 as quoted by the Jakarta administration’s official news website.

"Building the tunnel would cause floods in Tangerang — both the city and the district… I think what we need is to normalise the flows of the Cisadane and the Ciliwung [rivers]."

The Public Works Ministry and the Jakarta government have long considered building the tunnel to prevent the Ciliwung from overflowing and flooding the capital during the rainy season.

The idea, however, was rejected by the Tangerang administration and the Banten provincial government. Rano Karno, the deputy governor of Banten province, suggested that Joko find another solution to the issue that will not merely transfer floodwaters from Jakarta to Tangerang.

Joko insisted on meeting with Rano and other officials in Tangerang to try and push the plan through. But after the conference, Joko decided to ditch the proposal.

"If it cannot be done, we should not push to build the [diversion] tunnel," he said.

Rano said that he would comply with the plan as long as it would not harm his province.

"As a province, we have to support the central government… but only if we won’t be the victims [of floods]," Rano said.

He added that he would prefer to discuss the tunnel after the Cisadane’s flow was normalised — a project which could take up to 10 years to complete.