President Prabowo Subianto confirmed that the megaproject Giant Sea Wall or the giant seawall will begin to be realized. Last Thursday at the International Conference on Infrastructure (ICI) 2025 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) Senayan, Jakarta, Prabowo emphasized that the giant seawall will become a solution to prevent erosion and tidal flooding in the northern coastal areas of Java and Jakarta. Prabowo projected that the giant seawall would stretch for 500 kilometers along the north coast of Java, from Banten to Gresik, East Java.
This mega project is estimated to cost around 80 billion US dollars or approximately 1,280 trillion rupiah. On this occasion, Prabowo claimed that the plan for constructing the Giant Sea Wall had been discussed at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) since 1995.
According to the plan, the construction of this giant dike is estimated to take 15-20 years. Prabowo will also soon form a special team named the North Java Coastal Dike Authority.
"I don't know which President will finish it. But, we have to start," he said. Prabowo at ICI 2025 in Jakarta, Thursday (6/12/2025).
In addition to roaming the north coast of Java, Prabowo also targeted the Jakarta Provincial Government to start participating in the mega-project of sea walls. Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said that the Jakarta government needs to allocate a minimum budget of IDR 5 trillion annually for the development of the project. tsunami wave . It is estimated that the cost for the embankments around Jakarta Bay alone would reach 8 billion US dollars or Rp128 trillion.
Pramono's plan involves using part of the development funds from revenue or income obtained from processing waste into plastic or through the construction of a solar power plant (PLTS).
"Previously, during the previous administration, Jakarta received 12 kilometers. Yesterday, it received an additional 7 kilometers, making the total 19 kilometers," Pramono said at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, on Sunday (June 15, 2025).
The plan for the construction of a giant sea wall in the coastal areas of the North Coast (Pantura) has actually been strengthening since the era of President Joko Widodo. This was once mentioned by the Coordinating Minister for Economics. Airlangga Hartarto , early January 2024. According to Airlangga, the construction of a massive sea wall will be the answer to the threat of tidal flooding and land subsidence in the northern part of Java Island.
Floods in the north coast of Java are predicted to affect 70 industrial areas, 5 special economic zones (KEK), 28 industrial designated areas, 5 industrial growth centers, and threaten 50 million people in the north coast of Java. At that time, the giant sea dike became one of the national strategic projects (PSN).
Is the Giant Sea Wall Effective?
On the other hand, Secretary General of the People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA), Susan Herawati, expressed doubt about the effectiveness of building a giant sea wall project. According to Susan, the proposal to establish a giant sea wall project from Banten to Gresik seems very forced. The reasons for building the sea wall are also considered to be misaligned in addressing the problems that need to be solved.
"We must see that land subsidence is not about the sea level rising higher. But rather the conversion of land on land which was previously for example rice fields or public green space has changed into malls or apartments," Susan said to Tirto's reporter on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
According to her, it is important to emphasize that land subsidence is not only a consequence of the climate crisis, but also an impact of poor spatial management. Additionally, Susan sees the construction of massive sea walls from Banten to Gresik as being uniformly implemented without thorough research.
The concern is that this mega-project with its huge funds is merely a strategy to siphon off money for the benefit of certain parties. Moreover, the effectiveness of the giant sea dike along the North Coast (Pantura) is increasingly being questioned with the establishment of its own authority body. Besides adding to the budget, the management of this special authority body for the sea dike project is prone to becoming just another means of distributing positions.
The impact on the environment and social-economic conditions of coastal residents who work as fishermen is also serious. Susan believes that the massive sea wall, over 500 kilometers long, will restrict fishermen's ability to search for fish. Additionally, the construction of this mega project will require a large amount of sea sand.
"The destruction will be multiplied, both in the areas that are filled and in the areas where materials are taken for the filling activities. So the damage will occur in two places," Susan explained.
Armen Zulham meanwhile, scientific article The article titled "Development of the Giant Sea Wall: Beneficial for Fisheries?" (2014) states that the project to build a giant sea wall in Jakarta Bay is predicted to have negative impacts on fishery business actors, as they will lose access to resources, waters, coastal land, and trade.
In addition, the construction of the Giant Sea Wall has promoted changes in relations in the social and institutional aspects among various business actors. Changes also occur in economic terms, related to the structure and sources of income, production inputs and outputs, market structure and labor, control of production assets, capital, and investment.
In the cultural aspect, Armen writes that there has also been a shift in relations within society to utilize resources, access to capital sources, and strategies to penetrate the market.
In the press release from WALHI last year, they assessed that the construction of the Giant Sea Wall cannot be a solution to the subsidence in the north coast of Java. On the contrary, the ambitious project of the giant sea wall will accelerate the extinction of biodiversity in the waters of northern Java island.
Indeed, this project will require a substantial amount of sea sand. For example, in 2021, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) estimated The need for sea sand For the needs of the Jakarta Bay reclamation project, up to 388.2 million cubic meters are required. Furthermore, if needed for the entire northern coast of Java. This project is also feared to accelerate the destruction of mangrove ecosystems that continue to occur along the north coast.
The giant sea wall project also faced rejection from the community. Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia (DFW-I) released a survey of public perception in Jakarta regarding the planned construction of the Giant Sea Wall in Jakarta in April 2025. The results showed that the majority of respondents, or 56.2 percent, did not agree with the construction of the Giant Sea Wall.
The rejection is based on concerns about ecological impacts, such as damage to coastal ecosystems, disruption of fishermen's livelihoods, and potential displacement of settlements. Meanwhile, 43.8 percent of respondents supported the project, citing flood protection and strengthening coastal area resilience as reasons.
Human Rights Manager DFW-I, Luthfian Haekal, stated that giant sea walls are not an appropriate solution to address land subsidence. This is because the phenomenon is a result of ongoing water exploitation. Citing a DFW-I survey, according to Luthfian, the solution that the public hopes for regarding this issue is actually for the government to dare to implement a construction moratorium.
Regarding fishermen, Luthfian believes this project will increase their vulnerability as it will make fishing areas even further from the coast. This includes the potential relocation of affected residents due to the construction of the massive sea wall.
"The Giant Sea Wall with that much money would be better redirected to welfare programs such as those mentioned earlier in the education sector or sectors that create job opportunities. Because job opportunities in Indonesia this year are indeed difficult," Luthfian told Tirto's reporter on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
The researcher at the Center for Maritime Development and Civilization Studies and lecturer from Trilogi University Jakarta, Muhamad Karim, stated that the Giant Sea Wall project may not necessarily be effective in addressing land subsidence and preventing tidal flooding in coastal Jakarta and the north coast of Java. This is because the project causes complex impacts.
The construction of the giant seawall causes changes to the oceanography of Jakarta's coastal waters and North Java Beach. This will lead to changes in current patterns, tides, and waves in the coastal area.
Moreover, the coasts of Jakarta and the North Coast of Java (Pantura) are also fed by large rivers, so any changes in oceanographic dynamics will cause sedimentation and alter the bathymetry in the coastal areas of Jakarta and the northern coast of Java.
"Therefore, there is no guarantee for the protection of Jakarta's coastal areas and North Java Beach with the construction of such physical infrastructure," he told Tirto reporters on Tuesday.
Ecologically, the construction of the Giant Sea Wall is certain to affect the "natural metabolism" in the coastal areas of Jakarta and North Java Coast. Because in Jakarta Bay there are small islands that also have typical coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds.
"The Giant Sea Wall will clearly disrupt unique coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrass due to changes in current patterns, waves, and tides," he added.
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