Indonesia to resume work on ‘Giant Sea Wall’ to save Jakarta from sinking

Indonesia will resume land reclamation that will help prevent Jakarta from sinking below sea level, a cabinet minister said, five months after work was suspended due to regulatory and environmental concerns.

Greater Jakarta, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, sits on a swampy plain and is sinking at a faster rate than any other city in the world.

Jakarta has focused its attention on bolstering its defences with a 24km sea wall and refurbishing the crumbling flood canal system.

The government decided late on Tuesday to allow work to continue on a key phase of the “Giant Sea Wall”, which aims to shore up northern Jakarta while revamping the capital’s image into a Singapore-like waterfront city.

“If this Giant Sea Wall is not done, that will create a big impact on Jakarta with regards to salt water penetration,” Coordinating Maritime Minister Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters on Tuesday.