Langka Land Sand, Property Price In Tanjungpinang Rises

Land sand mining activities in Galang Batang, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands (Kepri), some time ago. (ANTARA)

BINTAN - A number of building shop owners in Bintan and Tanjungpinang have also complained about the scarcity of land sand. This has resulted in an increase in property prices in the last three years.

One of the housing entrepreneurs in Tanjungpinang, Joni, said that land sand prices have soared in the last three years. Land sand prices currently reach IDR 800,000-950,000 per truck with a capacity of 3-4 cubic meters, up about 200 percent compared to three years ago.

The quality of the land sand in Galang Batang and Kawal is better than other places. But it was difficult to get the sand.

"Landpair dari tempat yang resmi dan tidak resmi, tetapi harganya hampir sama," kata Joni dikutip ANTARA, Minggu 19 Februari.

He hopes that the government will immediately deal with the problem so that housing development runs smoothly. "Without sand, we can't build houses," he also said.

Chairman of the Tanjungpinang Industrial Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) Ade Angga said the government has an obligation to assist and facilitate the resolution of the sand scarcity problem.

Problems that are obstacles in land sand mining management are related to licensing. The government cannot issue mining permits in the Galang Batang or Kawal area, Bintan because it is not included as a mining area in the regional spatial plan.

"Regional spatial planning needs to be adjusted to the potential of each region, for example areas that have the potential for land sand," he said again.

Meanwhile, Member of the Riau Islands Provincial DPRD (Kepri) Rudy Chua asked the government to fix the governance of land sand mining in a number of areas in Bintan Regency so that sand scarcity does not occur that can hinder development.

"The physical infrastructure project implemented by the government is certainly hampered if the sand is scarce," said Rudy.

The Tanjungpinang Electoral Region legislator said the scarcity of land sand not only hinders the physical development program being felt in Bintan, but also in Tanjungpinang. So far, the sand used as the basic material for buildings in Tanjungpinang comes from Bintan.

A number of building shop owners in Bintan and Tanjungpinang also complained about the scarcity of land sand.

Rudy said that improvements to land sand mining must be carried out from upstream, namely mining sites. The issue of environmental damage often appears when land sand mining is carried out.

The government should sit down with sand mining business players to prevent illegal mining. Illegal sand mining has often caused environmental damage, so that in the end it becomes a burden for the government to fix it.

"Determination of land sand mining areas needs to be carried out optimally. sand mining managers must also have a commitment to fix the area after mining," he also said.