T

he South Korean government has expressed a desire to help design the sea wall planned for construction off the capital city'€™s north coast, a high-ranking official has said.

South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Taiyoung Cho unveiled the proposal after a meeting with Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama on Wednesday at City Hall.

Cho, who assumed his post three months ago, met the deputy governor as a courtesy call, just a day before the latter'€™s departure for South Korea to attend the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Ahok planned to visit the Saemangeum sea wall, located on the southwest coast of the Korean peninsula, which is 33.9 kilometers long. It is considered the world'€™s longest man-made dyke.

'€œSaemangeum is the latest giant sea wall in the world. Many countries have giant sea walls but they were constructed a long time ago. In addition, the length of Saemangeum is close to the planned length of the Jakarta sea wall,'€ Cho told reporters after the meeting.

In line with the plan to build the sea wall, which will be 30 km, the city will proceed with its land-reclamation project.

'€œWe want to take part in the making of the master plan and later in the implementation. It will be great if we can work together on it,'€ Cho said.

'€œThere have been meetings on this matter and this time Mr. Deputy Governor will visit Korea. I am sure [the visit] will be fruitful,'€ he said.

Ahok is slated to leave Jakarta on Thursday night for Incheon, South Korea, to attend the opening of the 2014 Asian Games. Jakarta will be the host of the 2018 Asian Games, with Palembang, South Sumatra, acting as cohost of the multi-sport event.

The 2014 Asian Games will start Friday and end Oct. 4 in Incheon.

Ahok confirmed the South Korean government'€™s intention to take part in the project.

'€œI have intended to study the sea wall project in South Korea for a long time. I also told [city-owned developer] Jakpro to go there to learn. It is just a coincidence that I have to visit South Korea, so I will make the most out of it,'€ Ahok said, adding that he also hoped to learn about non-physical aspects of the project, such as how society responded and how the government managed the response.

The South Korean government first announced the plan to construct the dyke linking two headlands just south of the South Korean industrial port city of Gunsan, 270 km southwest of Seoul, in 1991. The project aimed to create 400 square km of farmland and a freshwater reservoir, but construction was suspended repeatedly amid lawsuits by civic groups against the government. Major construction was completed in April 2006 and the wall was opened in 2010.