T

he city administration is seriously considering the inclusion of a land-reclamation project in its master plan for a giant sea wall at Jakarta Bay.

The giant sea wall will curb floods in the North Jakarta area, which are exacerbated by the rising sea level and high tides.

Jakarta deputy governor for spatial planning Sarwo Handayani said recently that while the master plan was still being drafted by the administration, it had decided to expand the land along the coast of North Jakarta to accommodate the sea wall.  

'€œNothing is definite yet, but one thing is certain '€” we will try to reclaim some land in order to accommodate the project,'€ Sarwo told The Jakarta Post.  

The administration is currently in the process of finding an investor for the Rp 280 trillion (US$24.7 billion) project.

The Artha Graha Group expressed investor interest during a meeting with North Jakarta Mayor Heru Budi Hartono earlier this month.

Sarwo confirmed that no other investors had come forward.

Heru said no deal had been made with Artha Graha during last week'€™s meeting.

'€œAt the meeting, just concepts for the project were discussed,'€ said Heru as quoted by kompas.com.  

Heru also revealed that if Artha Graha won the project tender, it planned to build a Disneyland-inspired theme park on the site of former Hotel Radin in Ancol, North Jakarta, in a joint operation with the administration.

The giant sea wall project was the brainchild of former Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo.

Besides the sea wall, the administration also plans to build 17 artificial islets off Jakarta'€™s northern coast, in order to strengthen the coastline. Some parts of North Jakarta are vulnerable to flooding as they are below sea level. (dyl)