Prabowo’s sea wall plan ‘not the cure’ for Indonesia’s land subsidence issues, experts say

Prabowo to court Chinese investment for project that critics say will only increase exposure to climate risks instead of reducing flood hazards

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Boats on the water are seen beside a sea wall, holding back waters from residences built on land below sea level, along the northern coast of Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:46am, 17 Oct 2024Updated: 4:17pm, 17 Oct 2024

Indonesia’s incoming president Prabowo Subianto is planning to build a giant sea wall along the northern coast of Java, funded in part by Chinese investment, but critics say the ambitious infrastructure project is not a panacea for the severe land subsidence issues facing the region.

The president-elect’s brother and top adviser, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, said on October 7 that Prabowo would visit China next month to offer investment opportunities in the US$60 billion project, which was expected to stretch from the current capital city of Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java province.

The initial phase of the project is focused on the construction of a sea wall in Jakarta Bay, which will cost 164 trillion rupiah (US$10.55 billion).

Prabowo’s inauguration is scheduled for Sunday.

According to Hashim, the project will be financed through a public-private partnership model in which 80 per cent of the cost will be covered by private developers while the Indonesian government covers the rest. Chinese developers were particularly interested as they were looking for growth opportunities elsewhere beyond China’s “saturated” property market, he said.

“I will accompany Prabowo next month to Beijing, we will meet with investors [there]. Whoever wants to join the sea wall [project] is welcome, [whether] local investors, foreign investors from Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, please,” Hashim said.