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Java Sea, Natuna waters open for sea sand mining, ministry says
The Java Sea, the Makassar Strait and the Natuna-North Natuna waters is estimated to contain a combined potential yield of 17.65 billion cubic meters of sea sand sediments,
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Seaweed sways on the seabed in this illustration. Indonesia has announced it will soon open sea sand mining in the Java Sea, the Makassar Strait and the Natuna-North Natuna waters. (CC BY 2.0/Vovan UK)
T
he Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has announced areas permitted for sea sand mining, inviting businesses to apply for licenses to conduct the activity in those locations.
Those areas include the Java Sea, the Makassar Strait and the Natuna-North Natuna waters with the three containing a combined potential yield of 17.65 billion cubic meters (cbm) of sea sand sediment. Permit holders will have a depth limit of three meters, according to the ministry’s statement on Friday.
“The selection of these locations was certainly carried out after coordinating with a number of parties and was based on scientific studies,” the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said in the statement.
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The announcement comes months after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed a regulation that reversed a decades-old ban on sea sand mining and exports.
The new rule, introduced in May last year, allows permit holders to collect sediment, including sea sand, and use it for land reclamation, private and state infrastructure development and even exports provided that domestic needs have been met.
Before the ban was introduced in 2007, most sea sand mined in the country was sent to Singapore, according to the Singaporean government.
