Construction Of Tanjung Adikarto Port In Kulon Progo Will Continue

Tanjung Adikarto Harbor. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Department of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the Special Region of Yogyakarta ensures that the construction of Tanjung Adikarto Port in Kulon Progo will continue although until now it is still waiting for an integrated technical study at the central level.

"We are still waiting for the integrated study process of Tanjung Adikarto with YIA Airport and its surroundings," said Head of the DIY Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service (DKP) Bayu Mukti Sasongka in Yogyakarta, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, February 2.

The integrated technical study of the continuation of the Tanjung Adikarto Port development, he continued, is under the authority of the central government by involving experts.

He said that an integrated study was needed before construction could proceed, considering the port location is next to Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA). Through this study, it is hoped that the construction of Tanjung Adikarto Port will not have a negative impact on airport operations.

According to him, based on a study conducted in 2017, the addition of the length of the breakwater is the main focus to prevent silting of the harbor pool due to sedimentation.

At that time, the length of the "breakwater" on the west side was suggested to be added 150 meters and another 170 meters on the east side. Although it is considered more efficient, the results of the study were raw and failed to be applied because it was feared that it would trigger abrasion of the YIA runway.

"If the breakwater is extended, will it not affect the YIA airport runway because the ocean currents are blocked by the breakwater," said Bayu.

Another option is not to extend the breakwater, but to dredge the sand periodically to avoid silting the harbor pool. "But if it continues to be dredged, every dredging will cost money," he said.

Therefore, according to him, an integrated study involving experts is needed to determine the next stage of development.

Currently, the development study that will use the APBN is still in the budgeting process, including determining which parties will be involved.

"The process just got there," said Bayu.

On the other hand, there is also financing that will use the Government Cooperation with Business Entity (PPP) scheme whose conditions must be preceded by the pooling of assets in the port.

"So we are still in the process of pooling assets. There are central assets, regional assets, there are Kulon Progo Regency assets," he said.

Bayu denied the notion that the port, which had been under construction since 2005 and was predicted to be one of the new centers of economic growth in DIY, had stalled.

"It's still in the process of completing the construction. The conditions are different from other ports because the waves are big there and the sea currents are quite high," he said.

He believes that after the Tanjung Adikarto Palabuhan is completed, the production of captured fish in DIY will experience a significant increase.

If the port operates, the production of DIY capture fish, according to Bayu, is estimated to reach 270,000 tons per year because large ships over 60 gross tons (GT) can dock.