The relocation of the country’s capital city to East Kalimantan is said to be able to overcome Jakarta’s flood problem. Moreover, Jakarta is rumored to be sinking in the next few years.
This was conveyed by the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR), Basuki Hadimuljono. He emphasized that the transfer of IKN is not only for equitable distribution of economic growth but also to reduce the threat of Jakarta’s flood.
“This move was also carried out due to uncontrolled development in Jakarta. We have tried our best to manage the massive development in the industrial area although the progress tends to be slow, by moving the industrial area to the archipelago,” said Basuki at the ‘G20 Special Event, HELP Water & Disasters’ at Conrad Hotel, Bali, Friday (11/11/2022).
Basuki explained that Jakarta is located in a relatively flat area and the north side is located in very thick sediment deposits. This makes the area prone to flooding and land subsidence at an average rate of about 10 cm per year.
Meanwhile, according to the results of the latest study, the coastal area of ​​Jakarta of 16,460 hectares, or about 24.86 percent of the total area of ​​Jakarta has the potential to sink and be below sea level in 2035.
On the other hand, IKN Nusantara has a location that is surrounded by tropical rainforest areas around its territory and will prioritize green and environmentally friendly infrastructure.
“IKN Nusantara is located in the highlands, and has a low risk of being affected by disasters such as earthquakes,” he said.
Not only that, he said that the Kalimantan region has the highest level of water availability, in the sense of being the most abundant in Indonesia.
Seeing the current condition of Jakarta, the Head of the IKN Authority, Bambang Susantono, said that the IKN transfer would ease the heavy burden.
“Moving the capital city will lift some of the burdens and provide an opportunity for Jakarta to strengthen its role as a financial center,” he said.
