Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure: North Coast Sea Wall Construction to Safeguard Food Production

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development (Menko IPK) Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) stated that the construction of the Sea Wall along Java’s North Coast (Pantura) is aimed at safeguarding food production.

“It is also to protect food production. Because, in addition to the industrial centres that we must protect, we must not forget that there are many food production centres, agricultural areas that must also be ensured to be protected from seawater intrusion,” said AHY during the Kick-Off Meeting for Integrated North Coast Java Coastal Protection Infrastructure in Jakarta on Monday.

According to him, out of a total rice field area of 1.5 million hectares in Java, 115,000 hectares are impacted.

“This must be prevented. Investment in agricultural modernisation certainly takes the form of irrigation modernisation, including making crop diversification more visible,” he said.

For information, the North Coast Java Management Authority (BOPPJ) revealed that President Prabowo Subianto has requested that the master plan for North Coast Java (Pantura) protection be prepared immediately.

Head of BOPPJ Didit Herdiawan Ashaf said that his agency is collaborating with various parties, such as relevant ministries/institutions, universities, and experts, in preparing that master plan.

President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto stated that the Strategic National Project for the Giant Sea Wall is ready to be built stretching along Java’s North Coast (Pantura) to protect 50 million residents from rising sea levels.

Prabowo explained that building the giant sea wall in Pantura is the government’s solution in facing sea level rises of around 5 centimetres per year due to the impact of climate change.

Prabowo assessed that the threat of climate change is already at hand. In addition, 60 percent of the national industry is located in the North Coast Java area.

Productive rice fields that serve as the national food barn could also be threatened if the sea wall is not built soon.

Prabowo emphasised that this step is a form of the state’s responsibility in protecting the people and the nation’s strategic assets.