VP calls for review of reclamation plan

VP calls for review of reclamation plan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Hamzah Haz told the city administration on Tuesday
to review the plan to reclaim 2,500 hectares of coastal area in
North Jakarta, underlining that it needs comprehensive study to
determine the social and environmental implications.

"The environmental impact, not only economic benefits, should
be considered," Hamzah told reporters after the opening of a
seminar on Indonesian Maritime Economic Development here.

He said the city administration should also consider the
social costs.

"If the reclamation does not have economic value for the
people, particularly the creation of jobs, it should be
reconsidered," Hamzah was quoted by Antara as saying.

The city administration is intensively seeking support for the
reclamation of 2,500 hectares of sea and revitalization of 2,700
hectares of coastal areas in North Jakarta. The project was
originally introduced by then president Soeharto in 1995.

The administration organized a number of events: seminar,
discussion and workshop involving experts, and non-governmental
activists in trying to gauge public opinion about the importance
of the project.

But environmental activists warned that the reclamation
project could kill fauna and flora in the sea and coastal areas
as well as increase the incidence of flooding in the city.

While the social impacts include the loss of jobs for
thousands of poor fishermen who depend on the sea for a
livelihood and thousands of other people who would have to move
from their homes to make way for the project.