Reclamation project undeterred<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite the central government's demand for a new feasibility
\nstudy and design of the controversial reclamation project on
\nJakarta's north coast, Governor Sutiyoso said his administration
\nwas merely complying with a court ruling to press ahead with the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue with the project as the court ruling has
\nordered us to do so. (The ruling)'s crystal clear,\" he announced
\nto the public at City Hall on Friday.<\/p>\n
He added that his office would not ignore some points in the
\nrecommendation made by the Office of the State Minister of the
\nEnvironment on the project. The ministry lost in a legal dispute
\nwith private companies involved in the project.<\/p>\n
\"If any negative impacts are actually found, we will stop the
\nproject,\" Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta State Administrative Court ruled in favor of the
\nJakarta Waterfront Development Board (BP Pantura) in its dispute
\nagainst the state minister's office for issuing a decree to
\nreject the plan to reclaim 2,700 hectares of the coast.<\/p>\n
The project is for the construction of luxury housing, an
\nindustrial park and a recreation area. The project is expected to
\nbe completed in 30 years.<\/p>\n
State Minister of the Environment, Nabiel Makarim had pledged
\nto appeal the ruling which orders his office to revoke the
\nenvironmental impact analysis (Amdal) on the project as it was
\nmade beyond his authority.<\/p>\n
Nabiel has long been campaigning on the termination of the
\nreclamation project unless BP Pantura and its partner companies
\ncould come up with an eco-friendly blueprint.<\/p>\n
It was the administration's ignorant stance on the potential
\nenvironmental damage caused by the project that worried the
\nMinister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno, who
\non Thursday asked Jakarta to reconsider the project.<\/p>\n
\"It took 20 years to complete the reclamation project for
\nNgurah Rai International Airport in Bali and it damaged as far as
\n40 kilometers of shoreline there.\"<\/p>\n
On Friday, deputy director of the Institute for Social and
\nEconomic Research, Education and Information (LP3ES) Erfan
\nMaryono said the ruling would hurt the ecological balance, not
\nonly in Jakarta, but also Bekasi in the east and Tangerang in the
\nwest.<\/p>\n
\"The ongoing reclamation project alone has already caused
\nenvironmental damage in the area due to poor planning...I don't
\neven want to imagine what will happen if the massive reclamation
\nproject goes ahead,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Executive director of the Indonesian Environmental Forum
\nJakarta Chapter (Walhi Jakarta) Selamet Daroyni shared Erfan's
\nview. \"Jakarta has been rife with environmental disasters and the
\nproject will just worsen it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Currently, six private companies under BP Pantura are working
\non a six-hectare area of the coast, the first stage of the whole
\nproject.<\/p>\n
Selamat surmised that the project was driven by the companies'
\nmotivation to make a profit, but without considering the
\nenvironmental impact.<\/p>\n
Nabiel Makarim's decree No. 14\/2003 states:<\/p>\n
1. The reclamation project would cause an increase in the sea
\nlevel of up to 12 centimeters in some areas.<\/p>\n
2. Thousands of fishermen in Kamal Muara, Muara Angke, Muara
\nBaru, Kampung Luar Batang would lose their jobs.<\/p>\n
3. The project would damage the ecosystem as some 330 million
\ncubic meters of sand would be poured over the coastal area to
\nreclaim the sea.<\/p>\n
4. The project would worsen pollution around Kepulauan Seribu
\nregency due to the reclamation process and during the utilization
\nof the reclaimed land.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/reclamation-project-undeterred-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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