Kepincut Pasir Laut Entrepreneur, Minister Trenggono: Many Registered But Not Exported

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) said that many entrepreneurs have registered to take advantage of the results of sedimentation at sea. Even so, Minister of KP Sakti Wahyu Trenggono emphasized that until now sea sand cannot be exported.

"There are many sea parks that have registered, but to this day no one has been exported," Trenggono said at a press conference at the Indonesia Aquaculture Business Forum 2024 at the Raffles Hotel Jakarta, Monday, April 29.

Trenggono said this was because the government wanted sedimentation results to have economic benefits, but it was also useful for a number of areas of reclamation projects. One of them is Morodemak which will be converted into mangrove forests to avoid tidal flooding.

"That is a model that we want to convey that it is not always sedimentation for export purposes. Right, we also know that there are also many reclamations in Indonesia. In Batam there are a lot of them, and Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) and reclamation will be running soon. One of them is that we ask for reclamation to use sedimentation," he said.

Even so, Trenggono admitted that he could not specify the number of entrepreneurs who had volunteered to be able to take advantage of the results of sea sand sedimentation. He explained that entrepreneurs who can apply are companies from within the country.

"A lot, I don't know (the total number)," he said.

As for the price of sea sand for self-export, said Trenggono, the sea sand valuation is set at a price of around Rp. 98,000 per cubic meter for the country, and around Rp. 188,000 to Rp. 198,000 per cubic meter for the foreign market itself.

However, Trenggono reiterated that the results of sea sand sedimentation cannot be exported. The regulation of the Minister of Trade (Permendag) which regulates the opening of sea sand exports is being discussed by the government.

"But if the problem has not been opened for export purposes, the Permendag is still (stage) resolved," said Trenggono.

The KKP has announced seven locations for cleaning up sedimentation results spread across the waters of the Java, Makassar Strait and Natuna-North Nattuna seas.

In detail, the seven locations are the sea of Demak Regency, Surabaya City, Cirebon Regency, Indramayu Regency, Karawang Regency, the waters around Kutai Kartanegara Regency and Balikpapan City as well as the waters around Karimun Island, Lingga Island and Bintan Island in Riau Islands Province.