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nvironment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta has said he strongly disagrees with a plan to reclaim parts of Jakarta’s north coast, citing potentially severe environmental damage.

“If it’s possible, don’t do any reclaiming in the area. This is what we are aiming for,” he said Thursday.

He said he was concerned that reclaiming inundated coastal areas on Jakarta’s north coast would restrict the flow of sediment-laden water from rivers running through the capital, which would exacerbate flooding.

The reclamation project, he continued, could raise the temperature of sea water in the coastal areas, which would disrupt three steam-power power plants in North Jakarta.

The three plants — Muara Karang, Priok and Muara Tawar — supply 50 percent of Jakarta’s electricity and form the backbone of the Java-Bali power grid.

The Jakarta administration says it is mulling several reclamation projects to promote economic growth.

Combined, the projects would affect 32 kilometers of coastline, covering 2,700 hectares of land reaching out 1.5 kilometers from the coast. The deepest areas lie 8 meters under the sea.

The reclaimed area would span Green Beach, Kapuk Naga Indah, Angke, Mutiara, Sunda Kelapa, Ancol, Tanjung Priok and Marunda.

High rise buildings, landed residential estates, offices, shopping centers, mangrove forest areas, a golf course, a public beach and ports are all planned for the reclaimed swath of land.

Gusti also said he was concerned the plan would damage areas from which sand and soil was taken to be used to build up the coastal areas.

Gamal Sinurat, head of planning at the Spatial Planning Agency, said that following the issuance of the 1995 Presidential Decree on reclamation, the city had issued two reclamation permits for PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol and PT Manggala Krida Yudha.

“A small part of the reclaimed area in West Ancol has been developed into property, while Manggala Krida Yudha is still in the process of being reclaimed,” he said, adding that commercial buildings were also planned to support the new communities.

The first reclamation project ever undertaken in Southeast Asia was carried out by Intiland Group on Mutiara beach in North Jakarta in the 1980s.