City, ministry team up to redesign north coast
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
The city adminstration and the state environment ministry are planning a redesign of the ongoing land reclamation project on the northern coast of Jakarta.
The decision was made in a meeting late on Friday between State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim and Governor Sutiyoso, following an order made earlier by President Megawati Soekarnoputri to review the project.
"Both of us agreed to form a joint team, manned by officials from the Jakarta administration and the ministry. The team is tasked with creating environmental impact assessments of the project," Sutiyoso said.
Sutiyoso said the team would be formed by the end of this month.
"Hopefully, the team will complete its analysis this year," he said.
The Sutiyoso-endorsed reclamation project has come under fire as critics focus on the potential environmental damage to the ecosystem on the coastline. The environment office has rejected the plan because of its inadequate environmental impact analysis.
Experts at the office project the reclamation will lead to flooding in the northern part of the capital, worsening the annual problem.
The Rp 20 trillion (US$2.1 billion) project would involve the reclamation of about 2,700 hectares of land to build a modern port, business centers and housing estates.
The project was endorsed in presidential decree No. 52/1995, after several developers involved in the project took legal action in the Jakarta Administrative Court against the office over its decision to halt the project.
Early in February, the court ruled in favor of the developers. The office then appealed to the Supreme Court and is awaiting its decision.
Nabiel said after the meeting his office had no objection if the city went ahead with the reclamation project.
"Our concern is simply the environmental damage resulting from the development. We still require the administration to revise their plan to maintain the environment," Nabiel said.
If the revision failed to significantly minimize adverse environmental impact, the office would again reject the plan, he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo said the reclamation could actually help limit flooding in the city.
"We did have an (environmental impact) analysis of the plan. The analysis shows we could help mitigate floods in the city as the project harnesses sea tides," Fauzi said.
He said the development would be integrated with other flood mitigation systems, including the construction of the east and west flood canals.