Indonesia is seeking China’s help to build a US$80 billion giant sea wall along the northern coast of Java in a project that officials see as essential to protecting millions of residents and key industries from rising seas and sinking land, despite criticisms over its financial and environmental costs.
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President Prabowo Subianto broached the project with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a meeting on September 3, on the sidelines of Beijing’s Victory Day parade, according to Indonesia’s Cabinet Secretariat.
Following the meeting, Prabowo on Tuesday summoned Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, coordinating minister for infrastructure and regional development, and Didit Herdiawan Ashaf, head of the newly established North Java Coast Management Authority, to talk about the project. In October last year, the government estimated that the project would cost US$60 billion, compared with its latest projection of US$80 billion.
“Protecting Java’s northern coastline is not only necessary but absolutely essential to protecting the communities living along the coastline, which is constantly threatened by disasters caused by land subsidence, landslides and tidal flooding. We also want to protect various strategic industrial areas and special economic zones, many of which are located along Java’s northern coast,” Agus told reporters on Tuesday.
In June, Prabowo said that he envisioned a 500km-long (310 miles) sea wall stretching from Banten in the western part of Java to Gresik in East Java, which would take between 15 and 20 years to finish. The priority areas include Jakarta Bay, northern parts of Semarang, Pekalongan and Brebes in Central Java, all of which face regular tidal floods, according to Prabowo.
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The initial phase of the project would include the construction of a sea wall in Jakarta Bay, which would cost between US$8 billion and US$10 billion with a timeline for completion of “eight to 10 years,” Prabowo said.