Resty Woro Yuniar – 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.
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.
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.
"We are open to investment from companies from China, Japan, Korea, Europe and the Middle East. If you're interested, please come along. But we won't wait, we'll use our own strengths [to build the giant sea wall first]."
The northern coast of Java is sinking up to 25cm per year, while Jakarta is sinking up to 14cm every year, mainly from excessive groundwater extraction, according to official data. One third of Jakarta would be submerged by 2050 if its land continues to sink at the current rate, according to engineering experts.
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has said that the capital must spend at least five trillion rupiah (US$305 million) annually to build the 19km-long sea wall in Jakarta Bay.
The giant sea wall project is an extension of a massive coastal development programme for Jakarta that started in 2014 to protect it from tidal floods and land subsidence. The programme also includes the proposed building of 46km-long coastal embankments in the capital by 2040.
Funding challenges
Environmentalists and other experts, however, have warned that the giant sea wall project could pose a risk to Indonesia's already limited finances and threaten the delicate ecosystem on the northern coast of Java.
"We see solutions like this as false. This project is 500km long, stretching from Banten to the east, and the budget is more than 1,000 trillion rupiah. Our main question is, does the entire north coast of Java really need a giant sea wall? Is this wall the only thing that can address the flooding problem?" Susan Herawati, secretary general of the People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice, told This Week in Asia.
"We are also doubting the funding scheme, as the state budget won't cover the cost. Will we receive a grant or a loan from China? It seems like we would receive a mix of loans and grants, but Indonesia would still be forced to borrow, and the people would have to pay the debt."
On Tuesday, Agus said officials were still "refining" the funding scheme, but they would "ensure that everything is more targeted, efficient and truly addresses existing problems".
Anto Prabowo, an economist with Sebelas Maret University, has suggested that Prabowo's administration get financing from both public and private sources, including global investors.
The government could issue "a green Islamic bond for environmentally friendly projects, which could attract Middle Eastern and global investors", which could yield up to US$2 billion per year, Anto said in a statement on September 6, as cited by state news agency Antara.
Mangroves over concrete?
A survey released in April by Destructive Fishing Watch, an NGO focusing on illegal fishing practices, found that 39 per cent of 105 respondents were concerned that the sea wall would block sea access for local fishers.
More than half of respondents also disagreed with the project, while nearly 60 per cent said that it was not a solution to Jakarta's tidal flood problem.
"The majority of respondents preferred more green open spaces over giant sea walls. They wanted nature-based solutions, not solutions like giant sea walls," said Luthfian Haekal, a researcher with the NGO.
The government should launch a study to find out which areas alongside the northern coast of Java would need sea dykes or mangroves to tackle the rising sea level issue, he said.
According to Susan, massive land conversion on the northern Java coast should also be halted, as much of the land has been transformed into industrial and tourism zones and ports, making the coastline less resilient.
Agus said not all regions would need a sea wall and that the project would have to be adjusted accordingly based on particular geographical conditions.
In the case of the northern coast of Java, some areas are "in very poor condition" due to significant land subsidence, so a sea wall located several kilometres from the coast has to be built, according to Agus.
Proposing a combination of several methods, he said: "Some areas can still be improved by strengthening coastal embankments. They don't need sea walls, and [planting] mangroves is better, more effective, and more efficient for these areas."
[Resty Woro Yuniar is a Jakarta-based reporter who covers Indonesian current affairs and Southeast Asia's tech scene. She was previously Indonesia correspondent at the BBC and tech.]