Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution has said the government is now revising Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 54/2008, which is, among others, to allow for the construction of a giant seawall.

He said the revision, which was expected to be completed this year, was urgently needed because of increasingly complex problems resulting from fast changes in the economic, environmental and demographic conditions in the provinces of Jakarta, West Java and Banten.

“The government has been long paying special attention to the Jabodetabekpunjur areas,” said Darmin in Jakarta on Monday, as reported by kotan.co.id, referring to an acronym for Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Puncak and Cianjur.

The revision of the regulation, officially known as Perpres Jabodetabekpunjur, was important because of the regions' large contributions to the national economy (19.93 percent), Darmin said, adding that their population growth was 2.9 percent annually with a land conversion rate of 32.06 percent from 2012 to 2015.

Key articles to be revised include those related to land conversion, water management and flood control as well as the inclusion of the giant seawall in Jakarta's northern coastal area as part of the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCIDC) project.

National Development Planning Minister Bambang Prodjonegoro said the inclusion of the project was important because of the continuing degradation of land quality in the capital city.

“Development in the urban areas of Greater Jakarta should follow the concept of a compact city,” Bambang added as reported by kontan.co.id. (bbn)