Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA) - The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has halted PT BSI's shipyard reclamation project in Batam, Riau Islands, due to alleged violation of marine space.
Director general of maritime and fisheries resources supervision, Rear Admiral Adin Nurawaluddin, noted in a written statement received in Batam on Saturday that the project is halted until the company can meet the required permit to use marine space.
"Indeed, we have temporarily stopped the project, so the activity does not end up (compromising) the seas. That company still does not have the Marine Space Usage permit," he pointed out.
PT BSI is a company that manages domestic investments, specifically of steel smelters and shipyards.
Based on Marine Intelligence investigation by the special police unit for coastal areas and islands, the reclamation project is not backed up with the Marine Space Usage permit.
The ministry received some complaints from people about PT BSI, which has no such permit to pursue the project, he revealed. Following those complaints, his administration then sent the special police unit to collect evidence in February 2023, Nurawaluddin noted.
In the company's statement, it intends to expand the shipyard in the site where the reclamation project takes place.
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According to the land allocation issued by the Batam Concession Agency, the total area of land granted for the company's project is 62 hectares, comprising 13 hectares for their right to build and 49 hectares of marine space.
Allegedly, PT BSI has violated some articles in Government Regulation Number 21 of 2021 on spatial planning: article 101, number (3), article 188, article 195, and article 195; in conjunction with Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry's Regulation Number 31 of 2021 on administrative sanctions in the maritime affairs and fisheries sector. For those violations, the government can impose administrative sanctions, such as temporary closure of business activities.
Nurawaluddin pushed PT BSI to immediately complete the required process for the permit, which they can obtain from Online Single Submission after listing their source of materials for the reclamation project, plan for use of reclamation land, general overview of the project, as well as its schedule.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Wahyu Sakti Trenggono had stated that in Government Regulation Number 5 of 2021 on risk-based business licensing, the government has categorized business risks according to the sectors.
In the regulation, reclamation is listed as a high-risk business activity. Hence, the minister consistently urges the directorate general of maritime and fisheries resources supervision to ensure that the marine space usage adheres to the applicable regulation so as to avoid threat to sustainability of the environment.
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