Sutiyoso OKs coast plan redesign

Sutiyoso OKs coast plan redesign

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso agreed on Friday to redesign the planned
reclamation of Jakarta's northern coast as demanded earlier by
President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"I have no problem with that (redesigning). We will cooperate
with the State Minister of the Environment (Nabiel Makarim) to
improve the plan so we can proceed with the project," Sutiyoso
told reporters at the Islamic Center in Kramat Tunggak, North
Jakarta.

However, Sutiyoso pointed out that the state minister's office
should have been aware of the plan that was endorsed in a
presidential decree issued in 1995, during the administration of
president Soeharto.

"We have conducted the environmental impact analysis on the
project in which the ministerial office, of course, was
involved," Sutiyoso argued.

Megawati told Sutiyoso to review the plan to reclaim and
develop the city's north coast amid concern that the project
would cause environmental damage, including flooding in the
northern part of the city.

A recent analysis made by Nabiel's office forecast that the
project would affect several of the city's rivers where the
rivers empty into the sea, because the project would encroach on
up to 1.5-kilometer of that area leading to Jakarta Bay. It is
feared that this would lead to worsened flooding in the area.

Megawati also required that Sutiyoso involve the environment
minister's office in preparing the new plan right from the
earliest stages.

The order came because Nabiel's office raised objections to
the city administration's reclamation plan, bringing the project
to a halt. Companies involved in the project have filed a
complaint with the Jakarta Administrative Court to protest the
interference of the state minister's office. Early in February,
the court ruled in favor of the companies.

The Office of the State Minister for the Environment has
appealed and is currently awaiting the decision of the Supreme
Court.

In the project worth Rp 20 trillion (US$2.1 billion), Jakarta
will reclaim about 2,700 hectares of land on the north coastline
and will use the reclaimed land for the construction of a modern
port and business center.

Sutiyoso asserted that similar reclamation and development
projects have been implemented in many other countries which have
"coastal cities".

"There are many types of technology that have been applied. We
can adopt one of them to minimize any adverse impact on the
environment," he concluded.