KKP: Seawater utilisation reaches 24 billion cubic metres per year
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has recorded that seawater utilisation, excluding energy, reaches around 24 billion cubic metres per year across various sectors in Indonesia.
Director General of Marine Management at KKP, Koswara, said in an official statement in Jakarta on Wednesday that the seawater utilisation covers a number of sectors, including power generation, aquaculture, salt production, oil palm, the chemical industry and drinking water enterprises.
He said the electricity sector is one of the large-scale users of seawater because the majority of thermal power plants are located in coastal areas. Seawater is generally used as cooling water for condensers as well as raw material for desalination installations to produce process water and clean water for the operational needs of power plants.
Koswara said that large-volume and continuous seawater utilisation needs to be managed with proper standards and supervision.
“Therefore, compliance with permits for the utilisation of seawater other than energy (ALSE) is an important instrument to ensure that economic and ecological aspects go hand in hand,” he said.
The ALSE utilisation permit is a business licence that must be held by business actors who extract and utilise seawater, whether for their own use or for resale.
This obligation is regulated in Government Regulation Number 28 of 2025 concerning the Implementation of Risk-Based Business Licensing in Annex 1A along with its implementing regulations.
As part of fulfilling these provisions, PT PLN Nusantara Power (PLN NP) has obtained ALSE utilisation permits for 16 power plants it manages.
Director of Marine Resources at KKP, Frista Yorhanita, said PLN NP is the first company within the PLN group to obtain an ALSE utilisation permit.
According to her, this step serves as an example of compliance by strategic industries with regulations in the marine sector.
“This standardisation is not intended to hinder business activities, but to ensure that seawater utilisation is carried out responsibly, measurably, and with due regard to carrying capacity and environmental sustainability,” she said.