Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda says it will take five years for Aceh to recover from the tsunami. The province is one of the worst hit areas in the disaster catastrophe, claiming also most of the lives in the national death toll.

The government in Jakarta will focus this year on distributing emergency relief over the longer-term; officials will attempt to complete reconstruction work.

The Foreign Minister called for more help from the international community.

In the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, relief and reconstruction is seeing some progress. Local are returning to normal life with the help of overseas emergency workers, but on some remote islands, rebuilding efforts are slowed being down by inadequate transportation.

(CCTV.com January 10, 2005)