Bekasi to develop bay area into industrial port town

Bekasi to develop bay area into industrial port town

Wahyuana, Bekasi

The Bekasi regency administration plans to build a new
residential and industrial zone, to be called Kota Teluk Jakarta,
or Jakarta Bay Town, in north Bekasi.

Regent Saleh Manaf said over the weekend his administration
had hired a consultant from the Netherlands, the Dutch
Environment Technology Consultant (Detec), to conduct a
feasibility study for the project.

Detec was also involved in the plan to develop the Sunda
Kelapa Port in North Jakarta from 1996 to 1997.

The planned residential and industrial zone would occupy a
total of 30,000 hectares of land stretching across four
districts: Tarumajaya, Babelan, Muara Gembong and South Tambun.

Of this 30,000 hectares, some 10,000 hectares would occupy the
protected forest near Pantai Sederhana village in Muara Gembong.
The forest is managed by the Ministry of Forestry but large areas
s of it have been taken over for shrimp ponds and residential
areas.

Saleh said the new area would feature 25,000 hectares for
housing and a new port, with the remaining 5,000 hectares being
used as an industrial zone. The new town would also have maritime
recreational sites and a 200-hectare forest for tourists.

The new port would be expected to help transport oil produced
by state oil and gas company Pertamina at the Babelan oil field.
The field, located 25 kilometers north of Bekasi and 40
kilometers northeast of Jakarta, has estimated reserves of 424
million barrels of oil and 3.34 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The location of the planned town is extremely strategic, near
the border between Jakarta and Bekasi close to Tanjung Priok
Port. The area is also located near the estuary of the Bekasi
River.

This area served as a port in the seventh century. During the
Tarumanegara kingdom in the fifth century, the river was used as
a means of transportation and there are numerous historical sites
in the Muara Gembong and Tarumajaya districts.

The planned town, which will be financed by the 2005 regency
budget, however, has not been warmly welcomed by all residents.

A local leader in Bekasi, Abid Marzuki, said the project would
create job opportunities for residents, but the regent should
also consider the social and environmental impact of the
industrial zone.

"Bekasi does not need more industrial zones. The existing ones
are enough to provide jobs to people in the surrounding areas.
What is more important is for the government to provide the
people with the proper skills and education before setting up a
new industrial zone. So when the zone is ready, they will also
be ready for work," he said.