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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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A man rows a boat on Lake Toba in North Sumatra. (Shutterstock/DH Saragih)
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.
