10 Metres from the Sea, Batang Area Free from Giant Sea Wall Intervention

The head of the North Java Coast Management Authority (BOPPJ) and Deputy Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Wamen KP), Didit H Ashaf, has emphasised that the Giant Sea Wall (GSW) project in Java’s North Coast will not intervene in the land areas of the Batang region. This includes the plan to open up 4,000 hectares of new land in Batang Industropolis. “We are not intervening on land. We are carrying out activities at sea. For Batang, no intervention is being done,” Didit said after the Kick-Off Meeting for Integrated North Java Coast Shore Protection Infrastructure in Jakarta on Monday (4/5/2026). “So, we will connect the sea wall on the left side of Batang with the Batang toll road. Because Batang already has an economic zone and industrial area,” he added. According to Didit, Batang’s topography differs from other areas along Java’s North Coast that experience significant land subsidence. The difference between sea level and land in Batang is still around 8 to 10 metres, so no special intervention is needed. “Because the difference between sea level and land is about 8 to 10 metres in Batang. Therefore, we are not carrying out intervention,” Didit explained. He stated that the main focus of GSW intervention is on flat coastal areas with slopes of 0 degrees to 2 degrees that are experiencing land subsidence. “The intervention we are doing is for the flat areas, with slopes of 0 to 2 degrees. Because the land itself has subsided, making the sea level higher,” Didit said. Didit assessed that in such areas, the protection system will involve sealing certain areas to keep them dry and equipping them with pumps to remove water. “It’s sealed here, kept dry, with pumps to remove the water. One of them uses technology like that,” he said.