July 30, 2019

Anna Murray 

Uprising sea levels due to global warming have urgently threatened Jakarta, Indonesia in crisis as one of the world’s fastest sinking cities. President Joko Widodo told the Associated Press on July 26 that a giant sea wall around Jakarta ought to be built quickly to prevent Indonesia’s capital from being perished under the sea. President Widodo, in his 2nd and final 5-year presidency, also proposed to build a new national capital away from the congested Java, which has already gathered 57% of the existing 270 million of population. His ambitious plan will put the new capital to be the center of government and Jakarta to remain as a business and economic center.

Heri Andreas, an earth expert in geodesy at Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology, indicated some ground levels in northern Jakarta had been 2 to 4 meters below sea and continued dropping at the yearly rate of 20 centimeters. Andreas also forecasted the worst scenario if the rate of subsidence continues, 95% of northern Jakarta or about 1/3 of Jakarta will be submerged in the sea by 2050.

Building a giant sea wall encircling Jakarta Bay, which was initially planned a decade ago, is estimated at the expense of $42 billion. The mega project will include strengthening 30 kilometers of existing coastal dams, creating 17 artificial islands, and building giant sea walls on the east-west sides of Jakarta Bay.

President Widodo reiterated that the construction of a giant sea wall needs to be done quickly. However, Andreas considers the implementation will be politically slow and contested and expects the giant sea wall to be scaled down to a 20-kilometer-long wall for the most vulnerable area, which will be ideal for less construction cost as well. Indonesia’s government will deal with other areas of the risk afterward.

Photo:Webshot.