Construction of Foreign-Owned Resort on Maratua Island Temporarily Halted

Maratua, Berau (ANTARA) - The Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance (PSDKP) of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has temporarily halted the construction of the PT Storm Diving Resort (SDR), owned by Chinese foreign nationals, on Maratua Island in Berau, East Kalimantan.

The Director General of PSDKP KKP, Pung Nugroho Saksono, stated that this was due to PT SDR violating regulations by establishing a business over marine waters or utilising beach areas without possessing the Sea Space Utilisation Activity Compliance Approval (PKKPRL) document.

“The PKKPRL document is mandatory for every business that utilises marine space,” he said on Maratua Island on Friday.

He noted that Maratua Island is a small island with an area of approximately 43.043 square kilometres.

The resort is a foreign direct investment (PMA) from China but lacks the PKKPRL document, he added.

The Director General explained that the violation committed by the resort constitutes an illegal act that will be subject to firm sanctions.

“We are enforcing the law on small and outermost islands like Maratua as a manifestation of the state’s presence. We will not tolerate such violations. We raise the red and white flag to assert that these islands are a legitimate part of the Republic of Indonesia’s territory,” he emphasised.

According to him, this law enforcement effort is also supported by the community through local environmental oversight groups.

“We came directly from Jakarta to show that the state is present here. Thank you to the community oversight groups for providing information regarding this violation,” he said.

“This is not just a warning, but a full halt. That means all business activities at the site must stop completely. We have handled cases like this frequently; entrepreneurs should know that establishing a business requires a series of permitting processes,” he added.

The manager of PT SDR, Toni, stated that his company has been conducting activities at the resort since last year.

After installing the temporary halt announcement board, officials then erected a wooden pole with the announcement board and raised the Indonesian flag at the site.