Antara News·Indonesia·Sunday, August 16, 2026 at 09:03 AM

Prabowo urges universities to join Giant Sea Wall construction

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Sean Filo Muhamad, Yashinta Difa

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has directed domestic universities to actively participate in the development of the Giant Sea Wall project along Java's northern coast, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto revealed.

"The President's questions are almost always the same: Who has calculated it? Where has it been tested? And who are our experts handling it? He also emphasized that there should be no investment without technology transfer," Brian said here on Sunday.

Brian stated that his ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) designating higher education institutions as centers of excellence to supply multidisciplinary technical expertise for the national strategic project.

Leading institutions including IPB University, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Diponegoro University (Undip) and Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) are leading research on hydrodynamic modeling, coastal construction engineering, material innovations and socio-economic impact assessments.

Academic experts are not merely offering advisory services, professors and researchers have been integrated directly into the field implementation team under the North Java Coast Management Authority.

"And this does not stop with the studies," Brian added, highlighting that sea-defense technologies designed by universities have already undergone pilot testing in vulnerable coastal areas like Demak and Semarang.

The Giant Sea Wall project is designed to span 15 coastal segments from Banten Province to Gresik, East Java, to mitigate chronic land subsidence and rising sea levels.

During his presentation on the 2027 State Budget Bill on Friday (August 14), President Prabowo reaffirmed his commitment to breaking ground on the megaproject, which is projected to take 15 to 20 years to complete.

The 500-kilometer infrastructure project carries an estimated total investment value of US$80 billion, with its initial construction phase in Jakarta Bay projected to cost between US$8 billion and US$10 billion.

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