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Moving the capital won't prevent Jakarta from sinking say experts
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Motorists and motorcyclists drive through floodwater at the Taman Ratu housing complex in West Jakarta on Feb. 28. Environmentalists have long blamed the worsening flooding in Jakarta to land subsidence in the capital city. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
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nvironmentalists have cast doubt over the recent statement from Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria that relocating the capital city to East Kalimantan will help prevent Jakarta from sinking.
The statement was made in response to director of city-owned tap water company PAM Jaya, Arief Nasrudin, who said that 90 percent of Jakarta would sink by 2050 due to over-extraction of groundwater.
The deputy governor had expressed his optimism that moving the capital city would reduce the population of Jakarta – currently home to almost 11 million people – and eventually lower excessive use of groundwater.
Director of Jakarta Forum for the Environment (Walhi Jakarta) Suci F. Tanjung said the capital relocation would not significantly lessen Jakarta’s population burden, especially considering the plan to make Jakarta the country's main business hub after it is no longer Indonesia's capital city.
"Riza's statement contradicted the government's current plan to make Jakarta a global business and economic hub. It means that Jakarta will keep growing and nothing will change unless authorities address the root of the problem," Suci told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Jakarta is the most densely populated area in all of Indonesia. Each year, the headcount in the city and its surrounding areas grows by up to 250,000 people, and research suggests that Jakarta could become the most populous city in the world by 2030 with over 38 million residents.
Around 1.5 million civil servants, 10 percent of Jakarta's population, are expected to leave the city once the capital is relocated to East Kalimantan.
