The country’s own fisheries chief is apparently opposed to Indonesia’s proposal to auction off the development rights to an archipelago of more than 100 tropical islands, which is due to take place on Thursday.
The prospective purchasers must pay $100,000 in order to bid on the uninhabited, pristine ‘Widi Reserve islands,’ which are ‘one of the most preserved coral atoll ecosystems left on Earth.’
In the ‘Coral Triangle’ region of eastern Indonesia, Victor Gustaaf Manoppo, director general of marine spatial planning for the fisheries ministry, expressed scepticism on whether the necessary permits had been issued to operate in the marine protected zone.
The sale of islands to non-Indonesians is banned under Indonesian law, so buyers must bid for shares in PT Leadership Islands Indonesia (PT LII), an Indonesian development firm. The firm has licensed the rights to build a climate change-sensitive resort and luxury residential properties on the reserve.
Manoppo said PT LII lacks full approval from the central government to manage the reserve. ‘Based on our information, PT LII does not currently have (marine activity approval) for the utilisation of the Widi islands’ waters,’ he told a group of reporters last week.
‘According to our legal regulations, the Widi islands cannot be owned by foreigners and cannot be traded,’ he added.
Home affairs minister Tito Karnavian has defended the sale, telling critics that the firm PT LII was simply trying to raise capital investment. ‘The aim is not to auction (Widi Reserve),’ CNN Indonesia quoted Karnavian as saying. ‘The aim is to attract foreign investors, so that’s fine.’
PT LII stated that the sale would go ahead as planned at Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions in New York on 8-14 December.
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