Fishermen from Tanjung Pasir dismantling the makeshift bamboo fence on Jan 18, 2025, in the coastal waters off Tangerang, Banten. - Antara
JAKARTA: The Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry/the National Land Agency (BPN confirmed that two private companies own land on the shoreline facing the “mysterious” sea fence in the coastal waters of Tangerang regency, Banten, and has promised to investigate any potential links between the companies and the illegal barrier.
The bamboo sea fence has in the past weeks puzzled the public as questions continued to be asked as to who built it, for what purpose and how authorities could have been “uninformed” about the 30-km barrier’s construction, which required complicated logistics and a great deal of effort to construct.
Interested parties took the initiative to check with the BPN official database to determine which individual or entities own the rights to land facing the fence, sparking widespread speculation on social media that a number of private companies could have misused their permits to build the barrier as part of a reclamation project.
Amid the intense scrutiny, BPN head Nusron Wahid confirmed on Monday (Jan 20) that a company called PT Intan Agung Makmur held right-to-build permits (HGB) to 234 of the 263 land plots across from the fence.
Another company, PT Cahaya Inti Sentosa, owns HGB permits to 20 plots of land, while the remaining plots are owned by unnamed individuals.
In addition to that, authorities have issued land ownership certificates (SHM) for 17 plots of land in the area.
“We can confirm [the speculation] on social media that the lands next to the fence have been granted certain certificates. They are located in Kohod village, Pakuhaji, Tangerang,” Nusron said at a press conference.
“But, if you were to ask me who the owners of these companies are, please take it up with the [Law Ministry’s] Legal Administration Directorate General,” he added.
To this end, Nusron said that his officials had begun investigating whether the permits included land only up to the coastline or extended further into the sea, as some permits were based on maps drawn in 1982.
Several parts of Banten suffer from heavy coastal erosion, which pushes the coastline inland over a prolonged period of time.
“If there are HGB or SHM permits proven to include land further out from the coastline, meaning that they include parts of the sea, we will re-evaluate them. We have that authority,” Nusron said.
He also plans to probe the Tangerang land office and question high-ranking officials to make sure that proper procedures were followed in handing out these permits, promising that he would take stern action against anyone found guilty of foul play.
“As minister, I would like to apologise for the public uproar [the land permits controversy] has caused. We will see through this problem as transparently as possible,” Nusron added.
It remains unclear who owns Intan Agung Makmur. Cahaya Inti Sentosa, on the other hand, is a subsidiary of property giant Agung Sedayu Group, which is currently developing real estate megaproject Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) 2 near the sea fence.
Corporate secretary for PT Pantai Indah Kapuk Dua, Christy Grasella, was quoted by local media as saying on Monday that all 20 HGB permits the company held covered only land down to the shoreline.
President Prabowo Subianto recently ordered the Navy to start dismantling the fence after pictures and videos of it went viral on the internet, leading to opposition from Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, who raised concerns that the operation could destroy evidence.
Sakti declared earlier this month that the fence was illegal as it did not have the required marine spatial utilisation activity (KKPRL) licence, but chose only to seal it off in an operation conducted on Jan 9.
The minister, however, withdrew his opposition following back-to-back meetings with President Prabowo and Navy chief of staff Adm Muhammad Ali on Monday.
“We have decided that on Wednesday, we will gather [to dismantle the fence]. It won’t only be with the Navy, but also the Maritime Security Agency [Bakamla] and the Security Maintenance Agency [Baharkam],” Sakti told reporters at the State Palace, adding that a civil group claiming responsibility for installing the barrier would also be on hand.
A group called Jaringan Rakyat Pantura (north coast people’s network) previously claimed that local communities had funded and erected the barrier to prevent further coastal erosion.
“It’s good if they come as it will also ease our investigation,” Sakti said, noting that the President had instructed a thorough investigation into the illegal fence.
He went on to say that authorities strongly suspect the fence to be built as part of “a natural reclamation” effort to expand land along the Tangerang coastline.
“The fence was built so that the land [currently submerged] will slowly rise up, as the sediment carried by the waves will be trapped. This will result in new land [being created] in large areas”. - The Jakarta Post/ANN