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akarta governor-elect Anies Baswedan and deputy governor-elect Sandiaga Uno may find themselves in a quandary over a controversial reclamation project as the central government and current city administration step up efforts to proceed with the construction of artificial islets.

The pair repeatedly vowed during the campaign period to halt the project, which has been plagued by legal, social and environmental complications, in a move many deemed to woo voters in a competition against then-popular incumbent pair Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

Anies and Sandiaga’s view on the matter, said the pair’s transition team spokesman Sudirman Said, was based on their firm stance against land reclamation. The transition team is currently conducting a study and collecting input from various parties on the issue.

“Anies and [Sandiaga] will make the decision [...] after they are inaugurated as governor and deputy governor,” Sudirman told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The mega-project involving

17 man-made islets off the coast of Jakarta has been met with much criticism, similar to reclamation projects in other parts of the country, such as in Bali and Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Slammed as only benefitting the rich, the Jakarta project has received strong opposition from fishermen and activists, who claim it not only damages the environment, but also threatens the livelihood of at least 1,000 fisherfolk living in North Jakarta.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan asserted that the elected Jakarta leaders must continue the Jakarta Bay reclamation project to show the government’s consistence in its own policy.

“Whoever the leader is, [he] must respect the study issued by a credible institution. You can’t change everything just because you want to and because you’re the new official,” he said at the State Palace on Tuesday after a meeting on Jakarta’s strategic project.

Reclamation was brought to a halt last year due to a bribery case related to the deliberation of zoning and reclamation bylaws. But the Jakarta administration received the green light to continue construction of the problematic Islet G following a ruling by the Jakarta State Administrative High Court (PTTUN) in October, which overturned a decision by a lower court ordering a halt on construction.

Islet G is being developed by PT Muara Wisesa Samudra (MWS), a subsidiary developer of property giant Agung Podomoro Land (APL).

The administration is currently preparing documents for an appeal to PTTUN for Islets F, I and K, after the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) ruled in March in favor of a coalition comprising various organizations, including the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen’s Association (KNTI), Jakarta Development Planning Board head Tuty Kusumawati said on Wednesday.

The Jakarta Environment Agency held a closed meeting with relevant parties on Tuesday in a bid to redeliberate an Environment Impact Analysis (Amdal) of Islet G following the court ruling that favored the city administration.