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ALU: Palu Mayor Mulhanan Tombolotutu said the Palu municipality in Central Sulawesi would work together with PT Palu Property Sejahtera to reclaim Palu Bay and that his office was currently conducting a public campaign on the environmental impact analysis.

The reclamation project at Palu Bay, said Mulhanan, spanned 47.2 hectares and would use up to 2,883,085 cubic meters of earth and stretch from the Ponolule Bridge to the Taman Ria recreational park.

The coastal reclamation will be carried out between 200 and 250 meters from the coastline.

“The reclaimed area will later be developed into the Palu Bay tourist resort area and include hotels, culinary area, park, convention center, hospital and shopping mall,” Mulhanan told The Jakarta Post in Palu on Monday.

According to plan, the reclamation project will commence in December this year.

A number of fishermen and vendors at the Taman Ria recreational park in West Palu expressed fear that they would lose their livelihoods due to the reclamation project, because the government had yet to offer them a solution.

“Where would we be moved to?” asked vendor M. Sa’ing, 50.

Fisherman M. Rifay, 36, was also wary. According to him, the project would deprive local fishermen of a living.

“We already face difficulties finding fish in Palu Bay, let alone when the bay is reclaimed,” said Rifay.

Palu municipality said the reclamation project would not evict fishermen in Lere subdistrict. Nor will vendors who have been operating at Taman Ria be relocated to Talise Beach, which has been apparently allocated for small-time vendors.