D

espite the many problems surrounding the Jakarta Bay land reclamation project, including alleged high-profile graft, Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said on Monday that the project would go ahead.

Ahok said that as governor, he would continue the land-reclamation project, despite the controversy, criticism and alleged corruption surrounding the project.

“We can debate about the technical aspects of land reclamation but if we talk about policy, I will continue the development of the land reclamation and the sea wall,” Ahok said.

Although he would continue the land-reclamation project, he would make sure that it benefitted the city, he added.

Ahok claimed that criticism of the land reclamation was merely a political attack personally aimed at himself and was thus a never-ending debate. Ahok argued that the land-reclamation project was mandated by Presidential Regulation No. 52/1995 on Jakarta north coast land reclamation and therefore halting the project would be against the law.

Critics have said that given the high environmental and social costs the project only benefits property developers and not the general public.

The reclamation process has also been largely a private matter driven by developers, several of them very major companies including Agung Sedayu Group, Intiland, PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol and PT Jakarta Propertindo, as well as graft-embroiled Agung Podomoro Land.

More than 600 million cubic meters of sand are being transported from Banten to North Jakarta to create 17 islets, which will have a total area of 5,155 hectares, roughly half the size of Bogor city.

Properties on the islets are being sold for about Rp 30 million (US$2,200) per square meter. Islets on the west side will be for housing, in the middle for commercial purposes and the east for port and warehouse facilities. The zoning and details of the reclamation projects are contained in two bylaws, drafted by the Jakarta administration.

The land reclamation bylaw draft, Ahok said, was city secretary Saefullah’s responsibility, and Ahok had not been involved in the deliberation and discussion of the draft.

“I was not involved in the discussion of the draft; I handed over the responsibility to the city secretary,” he said.

Although former governor Fauzi Bowo began the issuance of in-principle approval for the 17 islets in 2010, Ahok picked up the pace with the extension of several expired in-principle approvals and the issuance of at least five construction permits within a year of his leadership.

Fauzi issued only one construction permit for one islet, according to documents obtained by The Jakarta Post.

Each islet requires a set of documents, including an in-principle approval, an environmental permit issued after finishing the environmental impact analysis, and finally the construction permit to set the reclamation in motion.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the governor from 2012 to 2014, did not issue any construction permits.

A month after Ahok was installed as governor in November 2014, he issued a permit for the construction of Islet G by a subsidiary of Podomoro.

Podomoro’s president director Ariesman Widjaja was named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday, along with Gerindra Party councilor Mohamad Sanusi, for alleged bribery with intent to smooth the passage of two draft bylaws on the reclamation.

A travel ban was also issued for property giant Sedayu’s chairman Sugianto “Aguan” Kusuma.

The fact that all the permits were issued without waiting for the approval of the bylaws has been subject to criticism from traditional fishermen and environmental activists.

Anyone flying over Jakarta Bay can see below one-and-a-half islets, with permanent buildings on them, north of Sedayu’s Pantai Indah Kapuk, a luxury gated community. The buildings are built on Sedayu’s islets.

The administration’s One Stop Integrated Services Agency says it never issued any building permits (IMB) for any islets in the reclamation project.

Urban Planning Agency head Iswan Ahmadi said that his agency had sent a warning letter for the developer to stop all development on the reclaimed land until all relevant documents had been acquired.

Iswan acknowledged that the monitoring function by his agency was still weak, considering that Sedayu had built rows and rows of shop houses on the islets without proper documentation.

“We have asked them to stop all development activities, and they have thus far complied,” Iswan said during a press conference at City Hall on Monday.
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