Trump-branded hotels, residences and a golf course were part of the blueprint for MNC Lido City. - Reuters
JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has blocked a billion-dollar real estate development outside Jakarta that was to include luxury properties under US President Donald Trump's brand, citing environmental damage, officials said Friday (Feb 7).
Trump-branded hotels, residences and a golf course were part of the blueprint for MNC Lido City -- an entertainment park project by a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned construction firm Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC).
The ambitious deal was signed between MCC and Indonesia's entertainment firm MNC Land in 2018.
The area, set to be part of a "world-class integrated tourism" resort, was expected to be backed by up to US$500 million in Chinese government loans.
But Indonesia's Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq ordered the halt on Thursday after a field inspection discovered several violations.
The ministry's senior official Rizal Irawan told a news conference on Friday that the project's "land clearing activities allegedly have caused sedimentation and shallowing in the Lake Lido".
Satellite images by the ministry showed Lake Lido West Java province has more than halved in size since the construction began -- down from 24.7 hectares (61 acres) to 11.9 hectares.
Authorities also found significant discrepancies between the approved environmental plans and the actual construction by Indonesia's MNC Land subsidiary, PT MNC Land Lido.
The government will impose administrative sanctions, Irawan added.
PT MNC Land Lido argued that the sedimentation had occurred before the company took charge in 2013.
"Sedimentation or shallowing as alleged has occurred before PT MNC Land Lido took over the Lido Area in 2013, which can be proven by the existence of aerial photos from 2013," the company said in a statement cited by Indonesia's news agency Antara.
It said it began construction in 2016 with one of its aims being to tackle the sedimentation.
The project is a key part of the 3,000-hectare special economic zone development.
Chinese companies were not planned to be directly involved in constructing or financing the Trump-branded properties. - AFP
