The Indonesia Water Institute (IWI) has criticized the “Giant Sea Wall” project regarding the project's objectives and construction costs, asking the Giant Sea Wall Task Force (Satgas) to explain the definition of the project.

The Giant Sea Wall is designed to be 946 kilometers long, crossing five provinces: Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java and East Java. This integrative project is needed to tackle the challenge of land subsidence in Northern Java coastal areas (Pantura), which reaches 12 cm per year.

This project is also combined with the development of other infrastructure, such as sanitation systems, drinking water, power plants and toll roads.

Deputy Minister of Public Works, Diana Kusumastuti, has earlier emphasized the importance of forming a Task Force due to the complexity of the project and the need for cross-sector coordination. This Task Force was requested directly by President Prabowo Subianto to handle the land subsidence along Pantura.

Diana said that the Task Force involved various ministries, including the Ministry of Environment, as well as related regional governments. Coordination will be led by the Coordinating Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development.

IWI General Chair Firdaus Ali considered this very important to determine whether the project can be continued during the administration of President Prabowo.

He cited that the Giant Sea Wall is one phase of the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) project, a program for building embankments and developing the coastal areas of Jakarta that was initiated in the previous administration.

"The Giant Sea Wall Task Force needs to clarify whether this project is a coastal embankment or an offshore embankment. Both are different things," Firdaus said as quoted by Katadata.co.id on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

He said further the coastal embankment was built right on the shoreline to withstand tidal flooding, while the offshore embankment is in the middle of the sea at a depth of 14 meters below the water surface.

He considered that what is most needed now is a coastal embankment, especially in a number of coastal areas in the northern regions of Java Island, such as Jakarta, Semarang and Tegal.

He emphasized that the need for a coastal embankment in the Pantura region is now very urgent and more realistic to build than an offshore embankment.

He also revealed his involvement in the Giant Sea Wall plan since 2009, but until now there has been no physical construction of the 35-kilometer (km) offshore embankment in Jakarta Bay.

"Actually, it is legitimate for the government to form the Giant Sea Wall Task Force. However, the key to this project remains the seriousness of the central and regional governments," he said.

Firdaus criticized the plan to build an offshore embankment from Jakarta to East Java in view of the large construction costs that could burden state finances. According to him, only the construction of an offshore embankment is technically and financially possible.

"The cost of the offshore embankment in Jakarta alone could reach Rp500 trillion (US$29.8 billion). From Jakarta to Surabaya, it could be tens of thousands of trillions. I have to speak objectively," he said.

The Ministry of Public Works plans to auction the Giant Sea Wall project using the Government and Business Entity Cooperation (KPBU) scheme, so that most of the costs can be borne by the private sector. However, Firdaus doubts investor interest in a project of that scale and cost.