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Businesses fret over planned groundwater moratorium in Jakarta
The Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said that the government’s plan to stop issuing new groundwater extraction permits to businessmen in the Greater Jakarta area is expected to badly impact businesses.
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A resident pumps water using a hand pump on Oct. 30, 2023, in Petamburan, Jakarta. (Antara/M Mardiansyah Al Afghani)
T
he government is set to impose a moratorium on new groundwater extraction permits in Jakarta, a move that the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) says will badly impact businesses in the capital city.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on Jan. 8 revealed plans to stop issuing groundwater extraction permits to businesses in the Greater Jakarta area, arguing that it saw a need to conserve water supply and halt land subsidence that has long plagued the city.
Residents, meanwhile, will still be able to draw water from the ground, for now.
“Considering the currently critical condition [of sinking ground in Jakarta], together with the [geological] agency’s head, we will not issue new [groundwater extraction] permits just yet to control [water extraction],” Energy and Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Yuliot Tanjung said in Jakarta on Jan. 8.
He did not specify when the moratorium on groundwater extraction permit issuance would be enforced because “it is still under discussion with the Jakarta provincial government.”
Jakarta is experiencing land subsidence evenly in various regions, with an average value of 5.71 centimeters per year, according to 2024 research published by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), citing excessive groundwater exploitation and alluvial soil consolidation for causing the area to sink.
Read also: High consumers to require permit for groundwater use
