Foreign Debt and Private Sector Mobilised, Giant Sea Wall Project Increasingly Seriously Pursued

The government is continuing to refine plans for constructing a giant sea wall as part of a long-term strategy to address land subsidence and the threat of tidal flooding in coastal areas, particularly on Java island. The project is now entering the stage of developing a financing scheme that will involve substantial funds. Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo stated that the concept for building the giant sea wall is already quite mature and has even been prepared more advanced by the managing authority body. “The concept is already very mature, even more advanced than that of the Public Works Ministry,” Dody said during a working visit in Central Java on Sunday, 29 March 2026. He explained that the project will not only function as a sea water barrier but is also designed to provide additional benefits, including as a source of fresh water and a new development area. Under the concept, sea water will be impounded and processed so that it can be utilised for community needs. “In the middle of it, it will be made into a source of fresh water, thus supporting the ban on groundwater extraction,” he said. In addition to technical aspects, the government is also designing a combined financing scheme. The project will not only rely on the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) but will also open opportunities for cooperation with the private sector through the Government and Business Entity Cooperation (KPBU) scheme, as well as support from foreign loans. Dody emphasised that foreign loans or loans still under the authority of the Ministry of Public Works and related to the giant sea wall project will be fully allocated to support the implementing authority body. “Whatever loans or foreign borrowings related to the giant sea wall that I still hold, I will allocate 100 percent to the authority body,” he asserted. Furthermore, the project also has the potential to create new areas in the form of artificial islands with high economic value. The development of these areas is expected to become one of the additional financing sources. “There, small islands will also be created that can be sold, thus there is a combination between APBN and KPBU,” he said.