“Susi Duyung” by Hari Budiono. Photo:@BentaraBudaya
National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) is a huge multi-billion dollar project that would see the creation of a giant sea wall (built in the shape of a garuda) to protect Jakarta from future flooding as well as the reclamation of an enormous amount of land from the sea that would be used to create commercial developments in the future.
At a seminar taking place at Jakarta City Hall today, Minister of Marine and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti warned the capital’s government about the dangers of sea reclamation.
Susi warned that instead of protecting the capital from flooding, the project could cause make the problem even worse. She said that for all of the land reclaimed from the sea, an equal amount of room would have to be made for the water displaced by that land.
“If reclamation displaces 1 million tons of water, it meaning there must be new reservoirs that can accommodate the 1 million tons that were displaced. Without it, the water will stagnate in Jakarta, ” said Susi as quoted by Merdeka.
The NCICD was put on hold earlier this month while further evaluations are conducted.
