Sea walls included in president's priorities: Infrastructure Minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono stated that the construction of sea walls was one of the priorities of President Prabowo Subianto.

Yudhoyono added that in addition to the giant sea wall, the president is also paying attention to infrastructure construction, especially in the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara.

"The wrap-up from the cabinet retreat in Magelang was about infrastructure, especially the IKN and the giant sea wall," he noted on Friday (November 1).

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On Friday, Yudhoyono met with Minister of Public Works (PU) Dody Hanggodo to respond to land subsidence in Jakarta and anticipate the danger of flooding.

"The PU Ministry explained their current progress and challenges. We want the north coast of Jakarta, Tangerang, to Bekasi to be safer due to land subsidence along with the danger of flooding and abrasion," he remarked.

Furthermore, Hanggodo explained that the projected length of the embankment from Cilegon to Gresik reaches 958 kilometers.

"We conducted Trial 1 from Tangerang to Bekasi of 43 kilometers years ago with a grant from South Korea and the Netherlands for the basic design," he remarked.

The cooperation between Indonesia, South Korea, and the Netherlands for the sea wall began in 2016 with the Trilateral Cooperation scheme. This aims to develop a comprehensive strategy and business case to restore the Jakarta coastal environment.

As a follow-up, in February 2017, the NCICD Project Management Unit (PMU NCICD) was formed.

In 2020, the PMU NCICD along with the trilateral cooperation produced an Integrated Flood Safety Plan (IFSP) as an integrated flood control concept, focusing on providing clean water, improving sanitation at river mouths, and flood control.

If land subsidence in Jakarta continues, the last option to solve this problem is the construction of a 21-kilometer giant sea wall.

This phase B sea wall will reduce the flood area by 112,000 m2 and lessen potential losses by up to Rp600 trillion (USD1 = around Rp15,849).