Pantura Threatened to Sink, Prabowo: Absolute Giant Sea Wall Must Be Built

Indonesian President, Prabowo Subianto. (Photo: Dok. Antara)

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto said that the construction of a giant sea wall or Giant Sea Wall (GSW) on the North Coast (Pantura) of Java will be built soon. He considers that the project is very important as a savior of northern Java from the danger of sea abrasion.

"We absolutely have to do a big embankment to secure the North Coast of Java Island. We shouldn't wait for the disaster to come, we should learn from other countries, the Netherlands is building long-term protection infrastructure without having to wait for disasters," said Prabowo in the Annual Meeting of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly and the joint session of the Indonesian House of Representatives and the Indonesian DPD in 2026, Friday, August 14.

"The Giant Sea Wall in Pantura Java must be built immediately and become a protective belt," he continued.

Prabowo explained that the function of the Giant Sea Wall is not only as a savior of North Java from the danger of abrasion, but can also be used for clean water needs to new economic areas in Indonesia.

"To save tens of thousands of hectares that have started to sink due to rising sea levels. In addition, our Giant Sea Wall in Central Java must become a clean water infrastructure, must become a new growth path and an engineering project that builds the ability of the nation's children," he said.

Moreover, a number of studies have been carried out such as from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). The mega project, he continued, indeed takes a long time to be built and completed within a period of 15-20 years.

"This project will take 15 to 20 years for us to complete the construction, this is a long time. I don't know how many presidents will inaugurate, but I am determined that the 8th president will start this project," he said.

Later, continued Prabowo, the Giant Sea Wall project is divided into 15 segments that stretch from Banten to Gresik, East Java. It will take 20 years to complete the project.

"Whatever we have to dare to start, this concerns the livelihood of tens of millions of our people who live in Pantura and must remember how many percent of our industries are in areas in Pantura, from West Java to East Java. So, the future of our industry is also at stake," he concluded.