By Achmad Sukarsono

JAKARTA, March 21 (Reuters) - Deadly floods that inundated parts of the Indonesian capital last month were a wake-up call for officials outside the city's administration to help solve the problem, Jakarta's governor said on Wednesday. Jakarta, a sprawling seaside city of nine million people -- a figure swollen by two million commuters during the day -- was hit for about a week in February by heavy rain and floods that killed dozens and displaced thousands.

The surging water also caused blackouts, cut telecommunications and closed down parts of the city, to the point where economists feared it could discourage investment. Much criticism was aimed at Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso for failing to anticipate a problem some experts say has a five-year cycle. The last major floods occurred in 2002, a few months before his first term ended.

But Sutiyoso told foreign journalists and diplomats the flood problem could not be solved by the city administration alone and the recent disaster forced the central government and other officials to finally listen to his longtime pleas for help.

"Whatever we do in Jakarta will have no meaning if things are not in control in the uphill areas. According to law, that needs to be done by the central government but they had not done anything," said Sutiyoso, a former army general who once was President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's direct commander.

Jakarta is a flat metropolis built on swampland. Parts are below sea level and 13 rivers flow through the city.

The sources of these rivers are mostly in the hills near the West Java city of Bogor, where deforestation is rampant following construction of golf courses and weekend villas for Jakartans.

"The recent floods gave me a chance to press the central government to do something for Jakarta. It moved their hearts to release funds that can help finish the east flood canal and they also plan to build large reservoirs in Bogor to block the river flow," said Sutiyoso, whose second term ends this year.

Jakarta has for decades been unable to carry out a flood-fighting programme centred around construction of a large canal because money was lacking to buy land from residents.

Critics say Jakarta's city administration has its own share of blame, including letting people turn riverbanks into slums. Sutiyoso argued he has been trying to relocate the more than 70,000 families on the banks to cheap government housing, but the city's capacity is limited to moving 2,000 families a year. "With no help from others, it will take 35 years" to shift residents from the banks of Jakarta's "miserable" rivers, he said.

Environmentalists also blame Sutiyoso, who is not seeking another term, for poor city planning that has seen a huge construction boom as the economy has begun to recover from the late 1990s financial crisis, slashing water catchment areas.

Sutiyoso said his administration has been prudent in giving licences to property developers and argued if any request falls on designated green areas, it would not pass the cut.

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