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Lake Toba development won’t cause losses for locals: Govt
The development of infrastructure and public utilities near North Sumatra’s Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake, will not disadvantage the local people, especially those who were evicted, the central government has promised
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span>The development of infrastructure and public utilities near North Sumatra’s Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake, will not disadvantage the local people, especially those who were evicted, the central government has promised.
“President Joko ['Jokowi'] Widodo has told me that the Lake Toba caldera development should not hurt or disadvantage the locals. If anyone does that, please let me know,” Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said at the cornerstone laying ceremony for the Toba Caldera Resort at Ajibata in Toba Samosir regency on Monday. The lakeside resort is to offer tourists a glamorous camping — or glamping — experience.
With a budget of Rp 4.04 trillion (US$286 million), the development plan focuses on the Lake Toba caldera, which the government wants to turn into a tourist destination of international repute.
Luhut said the plan would help the area make progress in its economic development. Therefore, he asked the locals not to be “easily provoked” by issues that might halt the development.
Last month, Sigapiton indigenous people were involved in a clash with police officers as they blocked a construction site for a 1,900-meter section of road crossing Sigapiton land in Ajibata district.
The clash left an activist injured.
Luhut said he had discussed the Sigapiton people’s concerns with Jokowi.
Delima Silalahi, director of the Study and Development Group of Local Empowerment (KSPPM), a group that supports the Sigapiton people, said the government should make clear its commitment not to inflict any losses on the locals.
“The statement should be accompanied by efforts to end conflicts on the ancestral [lands] instead of going ahead with the construction right away,” Delima told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Delima said the development of Lake Toba appeared to be just about keeping up with deadlines, while the locals were not properly informed about the development.
“If they are committed to inflicting no losses on the people, the people should be the priority of the development. The government has to be patient in listening to what the people have to say, and they have to be more serious about ending the agrarian conflict they face,” Delima said.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said Lake Toba was earmarked as one of the so-called new Bali projects after receiving UNESCO certification as a Global Geopark.
“The government is struggling to make Lake Toba a world-class tourist destination,” Arief said.
He added that the Rp 4.04 trillion for the development were a massive investment, including Rp 2.5 trillion from the Public Works and Housing Ministry, Rp 23 billion from the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Rp 17 billion from the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry, Rp 4.8 billion from the Creative Economy Agency, Rp 1.06 trillion from the Transportation Ministry and Rp 400 billion from the Tourism Ministry.
North Sumatera Governor Edy Rahmayadi said he expected the development to increase foreign tourist arrivals. According to Eddy, up to this month some 1,440 foreign tourists, mostly from Malaysia, had visited the site.
