In Indonesia’s relentless infrastructure push, taint of corruption weighs on environment

KENDARI, Indonesia — Like most residents of the tiny island of Bungkutoko in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi province, Mahrudin and Nurhaeti are a fishing family. But their boat has remained beached recently, and the couple stay inside their small house. The island sits just 100 meters (330 feet) from the Sulawesi mainland, but the strait — and the fishing grounds it represents for the Bungkutoko islanders — is disappearing as developers reclaim the sea to build a road to a new container port being developed on the southeastern tip of the island. The Kendari Newport is expected to go into operation by next year, replacing the old port in Kendari, the provincial capital. The project is part of the government’s wider “maritime highway” program, meant to revive existing ports and build new ones across the far-flung Indonesian archipelago. “You can see for yourself, [the sea] has turned into land,” Mahrudin tells Mongabay. The local fishers have been dealt a blow by the road project, but it’s no smooth ride for the developers either: their project is mired in a bribery scandal, one that activists say shines a light on how corruption in the decision-making behind infrastructure programs can affect communities and the environment. At the heart of the scandal is Adriatma Dwi Putra, the mayor of Kendari, who, along with his father, Asrun, the former mayor, is alleged to have taken 2.8 billion rupiah ($202,000) in bribes from Hasmun Hamzah, the director of contractor PT Sarana Bangun Nusantara. The three men…

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