JAKARTA: Indonesia is pressing ahead with its giant sea wall project along Java’s northern coastline as the government seeks to protect millions of residents, strategic industrial zones and food production centres from worsening climate and environmental threats.
Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono said the long-term project, estimated to cost around US$80 billion involves five provinces, 20 regencies and five cities, and is still being refined.
"We are continuing to pursue it, and hopefully by next year, it will be more mature,” he said, according to Antara News Agency on Saturday.
Agus said around 50 million people live in the affected coastal areas, which continue to face increasing threats from rising sea levels, land subsidence and tidal flooding, including in Jakarta Bay, Semarang, Demak and Kendal.
He said land subsidence in some areas had reached between five and 20 centimetres annually, prompting the government to consider a combination of coastal embankments, sea walls and nature-based solutions such as mangrove planting to reduce wave impact.
The giant sea wall project is planned to stretch around 500 kilometres from Banten to Gresik, with the initial phase in Jakarta Bay projected to cost between US$8 billion and US$10 billion. - Bernama
