Sink Or Swim?

Jakarta’s overloaded infrastructure and depleted resources have once again prompted talk of moving the capital away from north Java.

- George Styllis

Smelly rivers, foul air, gridlocked roads, and 10 million people—all of them steadily sinking. Jakarta has been left exhausted by its millions of inhabitants for a long time, and now it may be the end of the line for the city: at least when it comes to extending its tenure as Indonesia’s capital.

A relocation of government administrative duties away from the sprawling Javan city has long been mooted as a good idea. And the subject once again hit the headlines earlier this year when Indonesia’s returning president Joko Widodo once again raised the matter as a pressing point of business.

The questions on the lips of everyone since include whether or not President Widodo finally intends to make good on the move and whether it signals the beginning of the end for one of Asia’s most vibrant megacities.

Built on swamp land and touching the sea, Jakarta has proved a problematic place for a capital ever since it was founded by Dutch settlers in the 16th century. Back then inhabitants battled against diseases such as dysentery and malaria; today, it contends with trash-filled canals and endless traffic jams.

As the city’s population has grown rapidly— by seven million people between 2000 and 2010—so, too, have its demands for fresh water, electricity and housing, causing a drain on the city’s resources.

Jakarta relies heavily on groundwater for its drinking and washing needs since piped water is unavailable in most areas. The pumping of groundwater is said to cause the land above it to sink, and which, compounded by rising sea levels as a result of climate change, is causing tidal floods in poor areas on the coast.