Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has announced that construction of the long-delayed $80 billion Giant Sea Wall project along the northern coast of Java will begin.
The large-scale project aims to protect coastal communities from the threat of rising sea levels and major flooding.
The project will cover an area of about 500 kilometers from Banten in the west to Gresik in East Java.
Prabowo said the project was proposed since 1995, after being delayed for decades and is now being pursued as a new priority.
Prabowo said the first priority would be construction in Jakarta Bay at a cost of $8 to $10 billion, followed by the Semarang, Pekalongan and Brebes areas that are prone to high tide flooding.
He also said the initial phase of the project would be funded by the central government and Jakarta province, each contributing 50% with an allocation of about $1 billion a year for eight years.
The Indonesian government will prioritize the use of local expertise, although it is open to international cooperation with Japan, South Korea, China, West Asia and Europe.
