The central government and the Jakarta administration have agreed to suspend the multimillion-dollar reclamation of land in Jakarta Bay to allow officials time to disentangle the legal knots binding the megaproject.

The decision was made after Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli. Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar and Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama met for an hour at Rizal’s office on Monday afternoon.

“We demand the reclamation project be halted until we can come up with a clear legal framework,” Rizal told a press conference after the meeting.

They also agreed to establish a joint team to review the regulations and the project development.

The construction of 17 artificial islets off the northern coast of Jakarta has been mired in controversy since the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Jakarta city councillor Mohamad Sanusi for allegedly accepting bribes from property giant PT Agung Podomoro Land to influence the drafting of bylaws on zoning in the project area.

The antigraft body later also arrested the company’s president director, Ariesman Widjaja.

Despite continued opposition on environmental grounds to the reclamation, the Jakarta administration and related developers have carried on with the projects for two decades.

It is estimated that developers of the 17 islands have poured at least Rp 1.5 trillion (US$114 million) into the megaproject.

Developer Agung Sedayu Group, which has even begun marketing properties on the islets it is developing, has meanwhile seen president director Sugianto “Aguan” Kusuma slapped with a travel ban for apparent involvement in corruption.

Siti recommended that all of the reclamation projects be discontinued pending coordination between the government and local administrations, including those of Tangerang in Banten and Bekasi in West Java.

The minister has yet to issue the relevant decree, however; she and her officials will first analyze the projects’ effects on the environment and local people and collect related documents from developers.

Acknowledging that developers might be reluctant to comply, Siti said she would not back down. “I have many ways [to force them to comply] if they refuse,” she warned.

The ministry’s standpoint is in line with that of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, which has revealed that reclamation in Jakarta Bay is illegal, as the city has yet to obtain the required permits from the ministry.

Siti added that the decree would be a binding regulation forcing regional administrations to halt the projects. “We will freeze their environmental permits. Developers will be unable to continue construction,” she said.

She revealed that her ministry had already found indications of environmental damage and potential loss to people who live or make their livings in the coastal area.

Those islets already under construction will be the initial targets of the ministry’s investigation, while the environmental impact of those yet to begin will also be analyzed.

The chair of House of Representatives Commission IV overseeing agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the environment, Edhy Prabowo of the Gerindra Party, said that the House applauded the minister’s initiative, calling on her to remain firm and impose sanctions on any party — whether developers or regional administrations — proven to have violated Law No. 32/2009 on environmental protection and management.

The commission plans to form a special inquiry to investigate the projects in greater depth.

“Reclamation has become a national and cross-sectoral issue. We should seek more information on the history behind the megaproject and look for links to the current irregularities,” Golkar Party lawmaker Ichsan Firdaus said, to the applause of fellow commission members.
_____________________________________________

To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.

For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com

Popular

Volcano erupts in North Sulawesi, hundreds evacuated

Dubai roads, airport reel from floods after record rains

Ramadan boosts consumer confidence, retail sales