Tangerang councillors reject reclamation

TANGERANG: City Councillors refused on Thursday a plan by real estate developer PT Parung Harapan to reclaim 150 hectares of the coastline for the construction of Pantai Mutiara Dadap Estate in Dadap subdistrict, Kosambi district, Tangerang, as it could cause environmental damage.

Purwandi, a councillor from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said that the reclamation could damage the coastal ecosystem.

"There is still other land that can be used. Our country is not like Singapore or Hong Kong, which must reclaim coastal areas because of limited space," he said.

Councillor Sys Abdul Gani of the National Awakening Party (PKB) said that the Tangerang administration must conduct a feasibility study to assess the potential negative impacts from the reclamation. He also called on the developer to conduct the Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) first, as is required by law.

"The administration must conduct the study first before the reclamation is approved. What will happen to the beach if it is reclaimed? The beach is a natural buffer zone," he said.

Head of the City Planning Agency Nanang Komara declined to comment on the issue.

"I was not there when the developer presented its plan," he said. -- JP