Minister: No Issues with High-Speed Train Environmental Analysis

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, said that there is no problem with the environmental impact analysts of the upcoming high-speed rail link between Jakarta and Bandung - despite the fact that there is some notes about flood prone areas and seismically-active zones across the track.

However, continued Siti, the Indonesia-China High-Speed Rail Link Company (KCIC), as the project administrator and contractor, has managed to provide an answer to all of those issues. "All of their solutions have been summarized in the environmental impact document - so there are no more doubts about the safety and the environmental impact of this project," said Siti during a press conference about the Jakarta-Bandung high speed rail link in Jakarta on February 9, 2016.

According to Siti, the environmental impact analysis - or AMDAL - consists of three documents - an environmental impact assessment, a strategic environmental assessment, and an environmental monitoring assessment criteria. "The first two are related to things are macro-strategic in nature - such as spatial planning," she said. "People seem to thing that AMDAL is related to the structure and design of the track and train itself - this is what needs to be separated."

Siti also explained that KCIC has submitted all the required documents to her Ministry on November 4, 2015, and there has been several technical revisions between November 2015 to January 2016, at the request of the Ministry. A technical meeting about the revisions, was done on January 18, 2016, and two days later, her Ministry has approved the blueprint submitted by KCIC.

That said, Siti admits that other stakeholders also had their bit to say about the project - mainly about the seismic potential of the area crossed by the track, as well as the volatility of the soil, when the monsoon season peaks. "We informed KCIC that they have to answer and provide a solution to these queries, by completing their proposal with the study of the actual physical state of the site in question - wherein they found four critical zones," she said.

Three of the zones are of a medium-risk, while one has been categorised as high-risk. "The points are located in KM 87, 74, 79, and 72 - so we have told the contractors to socialise the risks to local residents," she said.

"We have also told them to address the issue of potential flooding in Tegal Alur," said Siti. "KCIC said that they will address the issue with improved drainage with an emergency water reserve pump system," said Siti.

ANANDA TERESIA