Jakarta – It has been revealed that a number of sea areas in Indonesia are recorded has having right to build (HGB) permits and land ownership certificates (SHM) after the polemic over the sea fence off the coast of Tangerang regency surfaced and came into the public spotlight.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono has stated that sea area are not allowed to have building or land ownership certificates, stressing that according to regulations in Indonesia all sea areas are public property.
"If it's the seabed it's not allowed to have a certificate. So that's clearly illegal", Trenggono said at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday January 20. "So if all of a sudden they exist, right, it's rather strange", he added.
The following are sea areas in Indonesia that are recorded has having HGB and SHM certificates based on a summary by CNN Indonesia.
Tangerang Sea
The Agrarian Affairs and Special Planning Ministry/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) has recorded that as many as 263 plots in the Tangerang Sea where the sea fence was build have HGB certificates. Also recorded are 17 other plots that have SHM certificates.
The owners of the HGB and SHM certificates are varied. The majority are owned by corporations, namely 234 building rights certificate (SHGB) plots in the name of PT Intan Agung Makmur, 20 SHGB plots on behalf of PT Cahaya Inti Sentosa and nine plots on behalf of individuals.
However, the Minister of ATR/BPN has stated that the issuance of the HGB certificates in the Tangerang sea fence area are flawed in terms of procedures and materials.
Sumenep Sea
Sumenep regency Fisheries Offices head Agustiono Sulasno has confirmed that an area of 20 hectares along the sea off Gersik Putih Village, Gapura district, Sumenep, East Java, have SHMs.
"Yes, that's right, they had SHM certificates issued in 2023 where it was planned to build salt ponds", Sulasno told CNN Indonesia on Friday January 24.
Sulasno however did not explain in detail the reasons for the issuance of the SHMs. He claimed that the government had previously carried out an investigation of geographical territories and tidal areas.
"The essence is if the sea water recedes, yes it changes into land. Conversely, if the tide comes back in again, yes it changes to water", he said.
Sidoarjo Sea
The East Java regional office of the Ministry of ATR/BPN has recorded that an area of 656 hectares in the Sidoarjo Sea had HGB certificates issued in 1996. Regional office head Lampri said that they are owned by two companies and the certificates will expire in 2026.
"The HGBs were issued in 1996, they will end in 2026", Lampri said during a press conference in the provincial capital of Surabaya on Tuesday January 21.
"PT Surya Inti Permata 285.16 hectares, PT Semeru Cemerlang 152.36 hectares, PT Surya Inti Permata 219.31 hectares. There are two legal entities there", he added.
Makassar Sea
The Makassar BPN in South Sulawesi has recorded that 23 hectares of land in the Makassar Sea have HGB certificates issued in 2015 and owned by a company group.
However, Makassar BPN disputes division head Andrey Saputra was reluctant to reveal the owners of the HGBs in sea off Tamalate district.
"We can inform [you], in this area there are certificates, regarding when they were issued and who the owner is, I'm sorry but that information is restricted. Because, its' related to individual rights", Suputra told reporters on Friday.
Other regions
Furthermore, there are a number of sea areas where it appears that sea fences have been installed such as off the C Island reclamation in Jakarta, Kamal Muara and the Bekasi sea fence.
The Jakarta provincial government Food Security, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office (KPKP) is still looking for the owners of the sea fence at C Island.
Meanwhile, the North Jakarta municipal government claims it does not to know anything about the existence of a sea fence at Kamal Muara, including who the owner of the sea fence is.
Meanwhile, the North Jakarta KPKP Village Office head said the permit to use sea area was under the authority of the KKP.
On the other hand, the sea fence in Bekasi is claimed to be a West Java provincial government project that is intended to become a fishing port.
The project is said to involve several parties both public and private. The 50 hectare area for the project is the contribution of two companies namely PT Tunas Ruang Nusantara Port (TRPN) and PT Mega Agung Nusantara (MAN).
Despite this, the sea fence has now been sealed by the KKP. The sealing and termination of the sea fence was carried out because the project did not have a Suitability of Sea Area Utilisation Activities (KKPRL) permit. (mab/isn/rds)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Sebaran Laut yang Tercatat Miliki HGB dan SHM di Indonesia".]
