'Reclamation debate' held on Friday

JAKARTA: The public debate on the plan to reclaim 2,700 hectares of the city's northern coastal area as promised by Governor Sutiyoso will be held on Friday at Hotel Milenium on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, an official said.

Chairman of the city environment management board (BP-LHD) Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, however, said the debate would take the form of a one-day seminar organized by the University of Indonesia (UI).

He said the three main parties participating comprised the team of the city's consultants which would present the environmental impact analysis, the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, and the city planning agency.

According to him, around 120 experts in various fields from a number of universities, non-governmental organizations and the press would take part in the seminar.

Sutiyoso recently cited the need to hold a public debate on the plan to reclaim Jakarta's northern coastal area to meet the increasing needs of the city for economic development.

State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim, Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Rokhmin Dahuri and a number of non-governmental organizations dealing with the environment have rejected the plan because, they say, it will seriously damage the environment in the area.--JP