Detailed Spatial Planning Regulation Violated in East Ancol Expansion

KOMPAS/AFFAN ADENENSI RIZA FATHONI

Heavy equipment is seen across from Carnival Beach, Ancol Dreamland, North Jakarta, Wednesday (1/7/2020).

The expansion of East Ancol is for recreational purposes. However, urban experts say that the project violates a regional regulation on detailed spatial planning (RDTR) and must therefore be cancelled.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has granted a permit to expand the Fantasy World (Dufan) theme park 35 hectares and the East Ancol Dream Park 120 hectares through Gubernatorial Regulation No. 237/2020. However, the expansion project in East Ancol was not placed on the map of Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 1/2014 on detailed spatial planning (RDTR) and zoning rules. This, according to some urban planning experts, places the project in violation of the regional regulation and means it must be cancelled.

Trisakti University urban studies researcher Nirwono Joga said on Thursday (9/7/2020) that talks about expansion in Ancol had existed since the 1960s. At that time, there were efforts to transform local swamps into a recreational area.

Read also: Gray Area of Ancol Reclamation

The Jakarta administration’s RDTR map shows 35 hectares of land expansion for Dufan.

“Only 35 hectares for Dufan have been technically accommodated for the Ancol expansion. If they [alone] are accommodated, then there is no problem,” Nirwono explained.

He added that the problem lay in the 120 hectare expansion plan in East Ancol. The plan did not exist on the RDTR map.

The Perda on RDTR and zoning rules was issued in 2014 and will be in effect until 2030.

If the 120 hectare expansion is to be part of the Jakarta administration’s plan, it should be listed on the RDTR map, he said. The Perda on RDTR and zoning rules was issued in 2014 and will be in effect until 2030.

Nirwono said there was not yet a master plan governing the area’s expansion. Point 9 of Gubernatorial Regulation No. 237/2020, which Anies signed as Jakarta Governor on Feb 24, stipulated that development on all expansion should refer to RDTRs, master plans, urban planning guidelines and other regulations.

“As the plan does not exist on the RDTR and there is no master plan, the 100-hectare expansion plan must technically be cancelled by the Jakarta administration,” Nirwono said.

He referred to a 100-hectare expansion instead of a 120-hectare one because, as visible on satellite maps, a new 20-hectare stretch of land has already been created in East Ancol.

In a press statement on Friday (3/7/2020), Jakarta administration secretary Saefullah said the 20 hectare plot of land in East Ancol was created as part of the Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative (JEDI), a flood mitigation project in Jakarta carried out by the World Bank and the provincial administration.

Through the project, which began in 2009, dams and 13 rivers in the capital were dredged. Mud from the dredging was dumped in East Ancol and, over the course of 11 years, this buildup created 20 hectares of new land.

“The 20 hectare plot of land is part of East Ancol, which is an estuary. So, the 20 hectare plot is not linked whatsoever to the cancelled reclamation project,” Nirwono said.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Nirwono Joga

As the expansion plan does not exist in the RDTR map and there is no master plan, Nirwono said that Gubernatorial Regulation No. 237/2020, which gave permission for the 120 hectare expansion, had violated the regional regulation.

Nirwono added that Jakarta councilors should strictly oversee the project, especially the 20-hectare land that had already been formed, and should cancel the further 100 hectare expansion plan.

He said if the administration wished to go on with the project, there should be an environmental impact assessment on the 20 hectares of land. He said the assessment could include whether the new land affected water flow and led to tidal flooding, whether it affected the activities of local fishing communities and how it affected pollution on the estuary.

“Well, if we must choose, we must focus on stopping further development on the 20-hectare area. It has been created and tearing it apart will not be realistic. The Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry must then ensure that [development on] this 20-hectare piece of land is stopped. The land’s status must also be ascertained, because it must have a certificate. It must also be ascertained what the land will be used for,” Nirwono said.

Nirwono said the 100 hectare development plan had to be cancelled. Beyond its absence in the RDTR plan, he said he believed studies might be carried out to justify the plan’s legality.

“What is dangerous is that, the studies can be used to strongly support including the plan in the revised RDTR. This is misguided and an upside-down way of thinking,” Nirwono said.

Developers with coastal areas will propose filling coastal areas instead of reclamation to increase land area.

If the plan went ahead, Nirwono said, other developers may follow the example set by the Jakarta administration and PT Taman Impian Jaya Ancol. Developers with coastal areas will propose filling coastal areas instead of reclamation to increase land area. Afterwards, studies will be carried out to fulfill requirements for accommodation in a revised RDTR.

“The 120-hectare expansion plan must be prevented. The Jakarta administration must set an example that development must follow regulations and the city council must oversee this,” Nirwono said.

In a meeting between Jakarta City Council Commission B, PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol and the Jakarta administration on Thursday (8/7/2020), councilors inquired about the East Ancol coastal reclamation plan, which had never been discussed with the council, as well as the gubernatorial regulation on the expansion plan permit.

“We learned about all of this on TV. We also question the gubernatorial regulation on area expansion, the expansion plan itself and the capacity of PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol to develop the area in line with the permit. Where will they get the funding from?” Commission B secretary Pandapotan Sinaga said.

Kompas

An officer welcomes visitors by wearing gloves, masks, and face shields at Fantasy World, Ancol Dreamland, North Jakarta, Saturday (20/6/2020).

Commission B member Wahyu Dewanto said that the area’s use was also unclear. He asked Ancol to explain the zoning rule.

In the work meeting, PT Taman Impian Jaya Ancol president director Teuku Sahir Syahali said that, as a religiously motivated enterprise, Taman Impian Jaya Ancol had received instruction to create a development concept for Ancol’s future. That plan included expansions of Ocean Fantasy and a theme park. These projects would be carried out solely by the company.

PT Impian Jaya Ancol corporate communications department head Rika Lestari said after the working meeting that the management would expand the existing area. This would include Symphony of the Sea and other rides.

Area expansion is governed by Gubernatorial Regulation No. 237/2020. Expansion plans are either completed or in development. However, the expansion project for this year has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.