Beijing - The Indonesian Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (MPWH), Basuki Hadimuljono, is looking into cooperation with China's Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI) for the construction of breakwaters and sea dikes.
During his recent visit to China, Hadimuljono met with the NHRI on September 24 to explore opportunities for cooperation in the construction of breakwaters and various types of sea dike structures in Indonesia.
According to Hadimuljono, the meeting will be followed by a visit to Indonesia by the NHRI team. The Chinese colleagues will review data and basic design studies prepared by experts from South Korea, the Netherlands, and the PUPR Ministry team.
He emphasized the importance of creating a physical model of sea dikes with the help of the Water Resources Laboratory in Bandung and the Coastal Laboratory in North Bali.
"This is a transfer of knowledge from China to Indonesia. The funding plan will include a loan program," Hadimuljono said in a press release from the MPWH on Thursday.
Conventional breakwaters, which are usually built using crushed rock from mountain blasting, take more time to build and are prone to storm damage.
In response, NHRI is developing an innovative, caisson-shaped breakwater with a design reminiscent of the number eight at the top and an elliptical base set deep into the ground.
This innovation has already been implemented along 27 kilometers of coastline in the Chinese province of Jiangsu. It has proven to be more resistant to waves, shorten construction time by up to three times and offers cost savings of up to 30 percent. This structure is also suitable for protecting riverbanks and is being adapted for use in windmill foundations.
The ministry’s chief engineer, Arie Setiadi, pointed out that the north coast of Java is threatened by coastal subsidence. The land is sinking by 15 to 16 centimeters a year, which is exacerbated by significant changes of problems with soft ground.
"We are currently collecting data to build 22 kilometers of sea dikes from Bekasi to Tangerang. This project will also be integrated into a highway system that will help reduce congestion in Jakarta, as well as an estuary dam that will become a freshwater reservoir. However, sewage disposal in the communities must first be improved, as 13 rivers flow into the area, so that the dam does not become a septic tank," explained Setiadi.