REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SAMPIT -- Sand dredging in Ujung Pandaran Village, Teluk Sampit Sub-district, East Kotawaringin District, Central Kalimantan Province, for the Jakarta Bay reclamation project, has raised concerns among the local fishermen.

"There is information (on the sand dredging plan), and we have opposed it. However, we do not know why sand dredging has been ongoing in the estuary there. We do not know the consideration behind it. The permit for sand dredging was issued by the provincial government," Samsurijal, the sub-district head of Sampit Bay, noted here, recently.

The sand is reportedly being shipped for the controversial Jakarta bay reclamation project.

Samsurijal said fishermen in his region have opposed sand dredging, as it could affect the local ecosystem and marine biota, adding that he was not involved in the issuance of the sand dredging permit.

According to Samsurijal, sand dredging activities have been ongoing for nearly a year. He suspected that abrasion on Ujung Pandaran, a tourist attraction, was due to sand mining.

Sand mining permits have been issued since 2015 by the Central Kalimantan provincial government to three companies: PT Prakarsa Sejati, PT Kalmin Raya, and PT Kalmin Sejahtera.

Each company has received a permit to exploit an area measuring five thousand hectares.

The local fishermen complained that their crap and fish catch had been decreasing due to sand dredging activities.

Meanwhile, on Oct 5, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan had issued Ministerial Decree No. S-78-001/02/Coordinating Minister/Maritime/X/2017 to revoke a decree on a moratorium on the Jakarta Bay reclamation project issued in 2016 by his predecessor, Rizal Ramli.

Pandjaitan sent a letter informing outgoing Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat that the moratorium was officially lifted, as developers had fulfilled several requirements put forth by Ramli.

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