BOPPJ: Plans for Giant Sea Wall Integrated with Semarang-Demak Toll Road Already Under Discussion
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Java North Coast Management Authority (BOPPJ) has stated that the possibility of the Giant Sea Wall (GSW) being integrated with the Semarang-Demak toll road has already been discussed by the government.
“Yes, it has already been discussed,” said BOPPJ Head Didit Herdiawan Ashaf during a media briefing in Jakarta on Monday.
The Indonesian government, through BOPPJ, affirmed that the development of a coastal protection system for Java’s north coast (Pantura), including the Giant Sea Wall, forms part of a national strategy to safeguard the sustainability of Pantura’s coastal civilisation.
The coastal protection being developed is not conceived merely as the construction of a sea wall, but rather as an integrated system combining an offshore dike, an onshore dike, and nature-based solutions such as the strengthening of mangrove ecosystems.
According to Didit, the Java North Coast faces serious challenges including land subsidence, rising sea levels, rainfall-induced flooding, and tidal flooding (rob), all of which impact settlements, industrial zones, ports, airports, agricultural land, coastlines, landmass, and nationally strategic infrastructure.
Approximately 17 million residents currently live in the affected areas, whilst the region makes a significant contribution to the national economy.
Conceptually, Didit said the Pantura coastal protection system is planned to cover an area stretching approximately 535 kilometres across five provinces — Banten, DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, and East Java — encompassing five municipal areas and 25 regencies.
Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo stated that the Semarang-Demak toll road will be integrated with the Giant Sea Wall to simultaneously address the tidal flooding that frequently strikes Semarang and its surroundings, as well as the Terboyo industrial zone.
Dody said the construction of the Semarang-Demak toll road integrated with the sea wall is expected to serve as a permanent solution to the tidal flooding problem in the Semarang area, particularly along the Pantura Semarang-Demak corridor.
The Ministry of Public Works, together with the Toll Road Business Entity (BUJT), continues to accelerate the completion of the Semarang-Demak Toll Road Section 1 Kaligawe-Sayung, spanning 10.64 kilometres. The Semarang-Demak Section 1 Kaligawe-Sayung is being built over the sea, with overall physical progress reaching 44.26 per cent as of 12 June 2025.
Construction of this toll road section is divided into three work packages: Package 1A, undertaken by Hutama Karya (HK) and Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), with physical progress at 65.92 per cent; Package 1B, carried out by Pembangunan Perumahan (PP), Wijaya Karya (WIKA), and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), at 42.97 per cent progress; and Package 1C, by Adhi Karya-Sinohydro, at 22.77 per cent progress.
Overall, the Semarang-Demak toll road has a total length of 26.95 kilometres, constructed in two sections: Section 1 Kaligawe-Sayung spanning 10.64 kilometres built over the sea, and Section 2 Sayung-Demak spanning 16.31 kilometres on land, which has been operational since 25 February 2023.