TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan or Zulhas said the ministry will only grant sea sand export permits after the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has given its recommendation.

“We are waiting for ESDM because the Trade Ministry cannot regulate the mining,” Zulhas said in a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VI at the DPR Building, South Jakarta on Monday, November 27, 2023. “So if ESDM is okay, we can export it. We don't have any problems.”

He explained that the ESDM Ministry is the authority that can assess whether the level of sea sand sediment to be exported meets the regulations. The Trade Ministry cannot interfere with this because President Joko Widodo or Jokowi has issued the Government Regulation (PP) regarding this policy.

As widely reported, Jokowi revoked the ban on the exports of sea sand that had been in place for the past 20 years. This policy is contained in PP No. 26 of 2023 on the Management of Sea Sedimentation Products.

The ban was initially put in place in 2003 through the Industry and Trade Minister’s Decree (SK) No. 117/MPP/Kep/2/2003 in an effort to prevent further environmental damage in the form of the sinking of small islands, especially around the outermost areas of Indonesia's territorial boundaries in the Riau Islands.

Apart from that, the maritime boundary issues between Indonesia and Singapore have not yet been resolved. It is feared that the reclamation project in Singapore, which has been sourcing its raw materials from marine sand in Riau waters, will affect the territorial boundaries between the two countries.

RIANI SANUSI PUTRI

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