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Jakarta to make 17 artificial islands
Jakarta will soon become a larger city as 17 new artificial islets will be formed off its northern coast as part of the giant sea wall project to prevent seawater inundating the mainland
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akarta will soon become a larger city as 17 new artificial islets will be formed off its northern coast as part of the giant sea wall project to prevent seawater inundating the mainland.
Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said at City Hall on Tuesday that construction of the giant sea wall would start in 2014.
'We will also build small islands inside the wall's perimeter so we can sell property,' he said.
Ahok said that nine of the 17 islands would be built by city-owned firms and the rest would be built by private entities.
The city-owned firms that will be taking part in the project comprise PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol (Ancol) and PT Pembangunan Jaya.
Meanwhile, the private firms that have conveyed an interest in joining the project include major property developer Ciputra Group and PT Agung Podomoro Land's subsidiary, PT Muara Wisesa Samudra.
Deputy governor for spatial planning, Sarwo 'Yani' Handayani, said at City Hall on Tuesday that the city administration was now processing the permits for the islands' construction.
Yani said as compensation, the city would also acquire 400 hectares of land from firms that build the islands.
'The land will be used for low-cost apartments for people who lived on the coast,' she said.
Jakpro president director Budi Karya said that the islands would not be built adjacent to the shoreline but at a distance of 300 meters.
'The water in front of the islands will be used as a catchment area,' he said.
Budi said the islands would comprise two types. 'The first will be islands equipped with pumping systems with a dam around them, so the water will not inundate them' he said,
He said the second type of islands would be constructed to a height of at least 5 meters.
Budi said the size of the islands would vary. The island in Ancol, for example, would be around 600 hectares in area.
'We have started collecting the dirt from the river dredging in Kapuk and Ancol,' he said.
Budi said the islands would have many functions, so not all of them would be used for commercial purposes.
He added that Jakpro aimed to finish the islands within three years. 'We cannot give the exact amount of the costs of the project as we are still calculating them,' he said.
