Governor defends private developers on reclamation
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja yesterday defended the reclamation works being conducted by private developers along the shoreline in North Jakarta in spite of the absence of a decree on reclamation activities.
Surjadi said that the land reclamation works are part of the city's development, which is expected to be addressed in a new decree currently being deliberated at the City Council.
"Land reclamation has been conducted by the private developers over the last few years. Ancol dreamland, one of the city's major recreation centers, is also built on reclaimed land," Surjadi said.
The absence of a proper decree does not mean that the ongoing projects in North Jakarta have to be stopped until the deliberation is finished, he said.
Surjadi admitted, however, that the decree will be important to control development on the new land and to establish the obligations of their owners as well as an authority responsible for the development of the new water front city.
Currently, the decree is being deliberated by the City Council and is expected to be completed by the end of this month, he said.
During a plenary meeting to discuss the decree on Monday, councilors questioned the legal status of the reclamation and whether or not the city administration should stop the reclamation projects in Ancol and Pantai Mutiara.
One of the developers is PT Manggala Karya Yudha, which is conducting the first phase of its reclamation project to reclaim a total of 500 hectares of the shoreline in east Ancol. The first phase will create about 75 hectares of land.
Out of the 500-hectare reclamation project, about 125 hectares will be used by PT Pelindo to expand its port complex, while the remaining 325 hectares will be used by PT Manggala Karya Yudha for the establishment of a business center and a residential area.
The city administration has begun the large-scale reclamation project along the northern coastline to obtain an extra 2,700 hectares of land.
Out of the 2,700 hectares, 1,222 hectares will be used for the development of residential areas, 88 hectares as a central business district, 426 hectares for a combination of industrial estates and business center areas, 37 hectares for green areas, 420 hectares as mangrove forests, 136 hectares for port and industrial areas and 371 hectares for other supporting facility sites.
The waterfront city will be divided into three zones: a western zone (from Pluit to Kamal Muara) for housing, a central zone (from Pluit to Koja) for a business district with high-rise housing and an eastern zone (from Koja to Cilincing) for the expansion of the Tanjung Priok port, a business center and low- cost residential areas. (yns)