PSN Status Project PIK 2 Deserves To Be Revoked: Only Widening The Jurang Of The Rich And The Poor

Visitors enjoy the La Riviera Holiday Festive tourist area at Pantai Indah Kapuk 2, Tangerang Regency, Banten. (Between/Muhammad Heriyanto)

JAKARTA Since its entry into the National Strategic Project, the development of Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) 2 has drawn controversy. Starting from social problems, the economy, to potential environmental destruction.

The government has officially revoked the PIK 2 Tropical Coastland development project from the PSN list. This decision is contained in the Regulation of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Number 16 of 2025.

This decision was quite surprising to the public, because previously the PIK 2 development project was included in the PSN list, which was said to be a reward for the previous era of government services.

Paramadina University economist Wijayanto Samirin supports the decision of PSN's revocation of status in the development of PIK 2 Tropical Coastland. According to him, PSN labels do not have strategic value for most people and instead only provide benefits to a group of people.

The PIK 2 project which stretches on the north coast of Jakarta and Tangerang has been listed on the PSN list since March 2024, under the leadership of the seventh President Joko Widodo.

This project was worked on by entrepreneurs who own Agung Sedayu Group, Sugianto Kusuma alias Aguan. Since being designated as PSN, the PIK 2 project has sparked controversy. Last year, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Nusron Wahid claimed to have pocketed alleged violations in PIK 2. One of them is that part of the project area is in a protected forest area.

PSN's status for PIK 2 given by President Jokowi's government to Aguan has been a polemic for a long time. According to a number of circles, the provision of PSN status is suspected as a reward for wanting to invest in the development project of the capital city of Nusantara (IKN) in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan.

Although, this claim was directly denied by Aguan in an interview with Tempo, which was published in December last year.

As PSN, PIK 2 gets a number of special facilities, ranging from ease of licensing, acceleration of spatial permits, to access to infrastructure support from the technical ministry.

The status of this country's strategic project also causes unrest among local residents and environmental activists. With the PSN label, the PIK 2 project is said to be difficult to touch by regional law and public supervision. The community assesses that PIK 2 developers are immune from criticism and complaints, because they take shelter behind PSN status.

As long as it has PSN status, the PIK 2 project received the spotlight when it was found that there was a 30 km long sea fence on the coast of Tangerang Regency, Banten, although management denied the company's involvement in the construction of foreign infrastructure.

This claim is not in line with the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, which records 263 fields in the form of Building Use Rights Certificates or SHGB and 17 fields in the form of Ownership Certificates (SHM) under the sea fence. The SHGB and SHM are in the name of a number of companies that are predicted to have ties to the Agung Podomoo Group.

The impact of the sea fence is considered detrimental to the local community, because it makes it difficult for local fishermen to find fish which is their main livelihood.

Seeing a number of controversies related to PIK 2, economist from the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) Nailul Huda supports the revocation of PSN status. Because according to him, the development of the PIK2 project is more detrimental to the environment and further widening the gap, especially in the northern region of Banten.

The construction of a sea fence to a very sharp increase in land prices has made the local community increasingly marginalized. Those who have livelihoods at sea will experience a decline in production," Huda said via text message.

Meanwhile, accessing beachside land will not be affordable by the local community. The gap between rich and poor on the north coast of Banten will widen," he added.

In addition, Huda assessed that PSN should have a broad impact on the community, such as road construction.

"Meanwhile, PSN PIK2 only benefits investors and high-end people who are able to access PIK2. So the essence of PSN is lost, there only provides benefits for investors," he said.

Similarly, Paramadina University economist Wijayanto Samirin supports the revocation of PSN in the development of PIK 2 Tropical Coastland is the right step. According to him, PSN labels are considered to have no strategic value for the community, which in fact provides benefits for a handful of people.

"The president's decision is very appropriate. PSN does not have strategic value for the general people and only provides benefits for a group of people, especially in the process, many regulations are violated," he said.