Nabiel okays reclamation project, says Sutiyoso

Nabiel okays reclamation project, says Sutiyoso

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso is determined to go ahead with his plan for the
reclamation of Jakarta's northern coastal areas, claiming that
State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim has changed his
mind and has decided to endorse the much-criticized project.

"I just met with Pak Nabiel Makarim today... Finally, we have
agreed to proceed with the reclamation plan," Sutiyoso told
journalists at City Hall on Monday.

An official at Nabiel's office confirmed that the Monday
meeting between the Jakarta governor and the minister took place
at the Gran Melia Hotel in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

However, Nabiel's deputy minister Karliansyah, who is in
charge of the country's environmental impact analysis, said he
knew nothing about the agreement between the state minister and
Sutiyoso.

"As far as I know, a ministerial decree which rejects the
reclamation plan could not be revoked. Therefore, the decision
against the reclamation plan is final," he told The Jakarta Post
on Monday.

Karliansyah is a top official at the environment ministry
dealing with the environmental impact report submitted by the
Jakarta Waterfront City Management Board (BP Pantura), which
Nabiel took into consideration in deciding to oppose the project.

Sutiyoso admitted the agreement had not been finalized as
Nabiel had yet to commit to scrapping Decree No. 14/2003 on
rejecting the reclamation plan for 2,700 hectares of Jakarta's
northern coastal areas.

The governor said that during the meeting, Nabiel demanded
that the reclamation project, which would cover some 32
kilometers of the coast, be integrated with the Jakarta
administration's plan to address the unresolved flood problem.

"Actually and implicitly, this is stated, but I agree to make
it more explicit in the environmental impact analysis," Sutiyoso
said. He added that he was also ready to revise the project
proposal, which had been rejected by Nabiel.

The minister issued the decree on Feb. 19, arguing that the
reclamation project would cause serious environmental and social
problems if the controversial plan was realized.

According to the decree, the project would raise the sea level
to about 12 centimeters, and would damage the marine ecosystem,
as 330 million cubic meters of sand would be needed for the
project.

The project would also increase the pollution around the
Kepulauan Seribu regency due to activities during the reclamation
process and in the utilization of the reclaimed land.

In addition, the project would spark social strife as
thousands of fishermen living in Kamal Muara, Muara Angke, Muara
Baru and Kampung Luar Batang would be rendered jobless.

Nabiel has also urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri to
issue a decree to revoke Presidential Decree No. 52/1995 issued
by former president Soeharto, which provided a legal basis for
the city administration to press ahead with the project.

Environmentalists and activists threw their support behind
Nabiel's rejection of the monumental reclamation project, which,
if realized, would be used by the city administration for various
modern facilities, such as luxury houses, hotels, condominiums,
industrial zones, business centers, mega-malls, offices, seaports
and recreation areas.

Sutiyoso said that 30 percent of the 2,700 hectares of
reclaimed land, predicted to be worth Rp 12 trillion, would be
handed over by private developers to the city administration for
use.