Ancol reclamation plan sparks controversy

Ancol reclamation plan sparks controversy

JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) has
criticized the city administration for approving an exclusive
environment impact analysis (Amdal) for the Ancol reclamation
plan.

Faction chief Lukman Mokoginta told reporters yesterday that a
1993 city administration regulation requires an integrated Amdal
report for the reclamation of the north coast.

"The approval of the Amdal proposed by the company (PT
Pembangunan Jaya Ancol) is in violation of the regulation,"
Lukman said.

Lukman added that the administration should not approve any
analysis until it completes its review on the master city plan,
which is expected in November.

Under Indonesian law, Amdal is a prerequisite for any major
project which could affect the ecological balance of an area.

Approval

The PPP voiced its objection to the approval of the analysis
only a day after PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, which is 80 percent
owned by the administration, announced its reclamation plan.

The company said on Thursday it intends to reclaim 300
hectares of the coast to expand the famous Ancol Dreamland over
the next ten years. It will start the US$223 million project
early next year by reclaiming an adjoining 50 hectares on the
western side of the existing dreamland.

An executive of the company, Ridwan Pohan, said the analysis
on the project had been approved by the city's environment agency
and they are only waiting for a permit from the governor so they
can start the project.

He said the new project would be divided into three phases.
The first, on the western side of the existing complex, would be
for residential development, he said. The second phase will be to
the east, where the company intends to build a housing complex
and golf course. In the third phase, the company plans to build
an amusement center in the middle of the reclaimed area.

The city administration also plans to reclaim about 2,500
hectares of coast near Ancol where it will develop a waterfront
city.

Lukman warned that the reclamation project may affect the
ecology of the sea and therefore it is important that the
administration study the company's analysis carefully before
approving it.

"Amdal designed for an exclusive purpose like the Ancol
development may cause environmental and social problems later on
because it serves only the company's interests," he said.

He added that an integrated analysis that applies to the whole
northern coast would be more effective and cheaper.

An integrated analysis, he added, is required because the
reclamation of land around Ancol dreamland is part of the north
sea coast reclamation plan which will cover a 35 kilometer-long
belt from Muara Angke to Marunda.

Meanwhile, a member of the city administration's commission
for Amdal, Kosasih, said that the analysis had been approved long
before the city administration decided to reclaim the north sea
coast itself.

The Amdal was approved in December 1993 while the governor
announced its reclamation plan only this year, he said.

He said he knew that the city administration's environment
agency had not yet made an integrated analysis on the north sea
coast as Lukman had proposed because up to the present it has no
clear-cut idea on the reclamation plan.

The city administration plans to reclaim the north coast, from
Muara Angke in West Jakarta to Marunda in North Jakarta, to
create about 2,500 hectares of land, with the project expected to
start early next year.

Currently, the city administration is still processing the
master plan, which is expected to be complete by November.(yns)