Underwater Tunnel Project In IKN Potentially Damaged By Environment, OIKN: There Are Human Activities

JAKARTA - The Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) recognizes that the underwater tunnel project or the first herded tunnel in Indonesia to be built in the National Capital City (IKN) has the potential to damage the environmental ecosystem.

Even so, based on the study, this project is said to have a very minimal impact on the sustainability of the marine ecosystem around Balikpapan Bay.

"When we made a plan that if we built a road or bridge over Balikpapan Bay, it was allegedly more damaging to the mangrove ecosystem or to provide an effect in the waters of Balikpapan Bay, for that the middle way is to build an underwater tunnel to minimize the impact," said Director of Forestry Utilization Development and Deputy Water Resources for the Environment and Natural Resources of the IKN Authority Pungky Widiaryanto in the agenda of Public Consultation of the Biological Diversity Management Master Plan. Capital of the Archipelago virtually, Wednesday, December 27.

"However, even though we have changed it, we are aware that human activities will damage nature," he continued.

Pungky did not deny that the construction of a number of infrastructure projects in IKN did have its own pros and cons. However, he again ensured that the government had conducted studies and minimized the negative impact of each project that would be carried out.

For example, at first the government planned to build a bridge that could connect Balikpapan with IKN through Balikpapan Bay. When viewed in terms of costs, the construction of the bridge is indeed considered much more economical.

However, considering the sustainability of the existing ecosystem, the government actually prefers to build an underwater tunnel (immersed tunnel) whose construction value is estimated by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) to reach Rp4 trillion per 1 kilometer (km).

In addition, Pungky said, in the construction process, later the construction of underwater tunnels will continue to pay attention to a number of sustainable principles that are in line with the vision and mission of developing IKN into an environmentally friendly green city.

"We are trying to minimize what used to be in terms of history building a bridge that would damage badly, so to the tunnel. Even though we are aware that the tunnel has a risk of damaging or having an effect too," he said.

The progress of the IKN underwater tunnel itself is still in the stage of deepening the details of engineering design (DED) by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR). In the deepening process, the Government involved international consultants because this project was completely new to Indonesia.

As is known, the Immersed tunnel IKN project is part of Section 4 of the IKN Central Government Core Area Toll Road (KIPP). The existence of an Immersed tunnel is also in accordance with the forest city concept as the concept carried by IKN Nusantara.