JAKARTA. Maritime Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has warned Jakarta Governor-elect Anies Rasyid Baswedan over the latter’s plan to stop the Jakarta Bay reclamation project, saying the Jakarta administration may face a legal challenge from developers.

The administration may have to pay compensation to the developers, he added.

“This is a state that is based on law. They will surely file a lawsuit,” said Luhut, commenting on the termination of the project as promised by Anies during the election campaign.

Reclamation in Jakarta Bay has been planned since the 1990s and is based on a 1995 presidential decree issued by the late president Soeharto, which formed the legal basis for the project.

According to kompas.com, from the total 17 isles planned to be constructed, developers had finished constructing Isles C, D, K and N, while isle G remained under construction.

Isle C and D were constructed by PT Kapuk Naga Indah, a subsidiary of property developer PT Agung Sedayu Group. Isle K was developed by PT Pembangunan Jaya and Isle N was developed by state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II.

Meanwhile, Isle G was constructed by PT Muara Wisesa Samudera, a subsidiary of another privately –owned property giant PT Agung Podomoro Land.

Anies’ camp, however, said the Jakarta city administration would not give compensation to the developers because the isles were not constructed on the basis of the original plans, while properties on the isles were constructed without permits.

“If you do something without a legal basis, you have no right to ask compensation,” said Marco Kusumawijaya, a team member of Anies and his running mate Sandiaga Uno. (bbn)

Editor: Sanny Cicilia