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.