JAKARTA: The government is seeking to speed up the implementation of the giant seawall project along the northern coast of Java Island, to tackle the lingering risks of land subsidence, rising sea levels and significant economic loss.
In the project’s kick-off meeting on Monday (May 4), Coordinating Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono emphasised that the seawall project “could no longer be delayed”.
The meeting was attended by several central government officials and local authorities involved in the planned giant seawall, which will be constructed across five provinces, 20 regencies and five cities spanning from Tangerang, Banten, to Gresik, East Java.
Agus highlighted the urgent need to build a massive seawall to protect the coast of Java, describing the area as “highly strategic” for economic development and growth, with its significant contribution of US$368.36 billion, some 27 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
He also said that land subsidence along the coast could occur at a rate of between 1 and 20 centimetres a year, with the most severe in Jakarta and Semarang, Central Java.
At the same time, rising sea levels due to climate change are projected to reach a rate of between 0.8 and 1.2 cm a year.
“The total population living along the northern coast of Java, in 20 regencies and five cities, is roughly 55 million people. This is a significant number. This is the urgency that we hope can push and motivate us all,” Agus said.
During the meeting, Agus added that the 500-kilometre megaproject is slated to include various developments, such as city revitalisation and the integration of the government’s fisherman villages initiative.
The giant seawall is also expected to help sustain food production and improve people’s socio-economic conditions by creating more jobs for low-income people along the coast.
Agus also stressed the crucial role of the Authority for the Management of the Northern Coast of Java (BOPPJ), which was established in August last year by President Prabowo Subianto, as the executor and “orchestrator” of all stakeholders in the project.
BOPPJ head Didit Herdiawan Ashaf, who is also the deputy maritime affairs and fisheries minister, told reporters following the meeting that the construction of the massive seawall project would be divided into 15 segments through a “parallel development”.
According to him, the project is currently in the planning phase. The government aims to conduct the planning and preparation process concurrently, before moving on to the physical construction phase.
Meanwhile, the dates for the project’s launch have yet to be determined. However, Didit reported significant progress in planning priority areas for the first phase of construction, including in Kendal, Semarang and Demak, all in Central Java, where the completion rate had reached nearly 80 per cent.
Other areas were still under further assessment, he added, especially related to their water and coastal characteristics to ensure well-targeted development.
The entire giant seawall project is expected to cost up to US$80 billion and take around 20 years to complete.
However, the government has been struggling to cover the full cost of the project, with President Prabowo asking the Jakarta administration last year to contribute half of the funding needed to build a massive seawall along the city’s northern coast. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
