KSP Continues To Persuade The Community To Accept Profits For Destroyed Land In The Semarang-Demak Toll Road Construction

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Presidential Staff Office (KSP) continues to encourage socialization and negotiations with the community to ensure that the land acquisition process in the Semarang-Demak toll road construction area in Central Java can be realized immediately.

Deputy I of the Presidential Chief of Staff, Febry Calvin Tetelepta, said that most of the land currently in the process of being discussed was identified as destroyed land or land that is already in danger of sinking due to tidal flooding.

“Land destroyed is still an obstacle for land acquisition in Section I of the Semarang-Demak Toll Road. KSP continues to encourage ministries/agencies and all related parties to intensively conduct socialization and negotiations to the public," he said in a press statement, Saturday, July 16.

According to Febry, people need to understand that they are afraid that in 2023 the land that is still visible will be destroyed by sea water.

"So, don't let the compensation process drag on until it's submerged in the sea, later you won't even get a penny of compensation," he said.

Febry added that the government is serious in considering the provision of compensation for citizens' rights. However, the process of land acquisition is still going tough because residents object to the determination of the status of their land to be destroyed land.

This resulted in the residents' rejection of the process of replacing the lost land and asking for large amounts of compensation.

“The government will continue to ensure that the land acquisition process is fair for the community. But keep in mind that we are also racing against time. So we will continue to find the best middle ground and ensure that the community gets a proper compensation," he said.

For information, the Semarang-Demak toll road, which is one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN) is integrated with the Semarang City Sea Wall, so it is expected to be able to support toll road connectivity on the north side of Java.

Meanwhile, the construction of section I that connects Kaligawe in Semarang and Sayung in Demak stretches for 10.39 km with a land requirement of 366 hectares, divided into 275 hectares of land in the city of Semarang and 90.5 hectares in the district of Demak.

Based on a report from the Central Java Provincial Government, there were at least 372 parcels of land destroyed or submerged by tidal waves in Section I which will become the sea permanently in 2023. This number includes 205.3 Ha in the Semarang City area and 90.3 Ha in the Demak Regency area.

"Not only will it support the new economic center in Central Java, this toll road will also function as a tidal flood barrier and overcome floods which have been a recurring problem in Semarang City," he concluded.