One of the World's Biggest Cities Is Literally Sinking and Its Not the One You Think

A combination of corruption, poor infrastructure and extreme weather conditions threaten nearly 30 million people in one of the world's most populous cities.

More than 28 million people live throughout Indonesia's capital, making it one of the world's most populated cities. But a major bribery scandal has prompted authorities to suspend a crucial project that could save the city — from sinking.

President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, said Wednesday that large parts of the nation's capital could sink below sea level unless a US$40 billion construction project, mired by accusations of corruption, does not go ahead.

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"It is estimated that all of North Jakarta will sink below sea level by 2030," Widodo said at a cabinet meeting. "Because of that, the development of the capital's seaside, which has been delayed for so long, is the answer."

Jakarta sits on a swampy plain and is sinking at a faster rate than any other city in the world. But authorities have now been forced to suspend a key phase of the so-called "Great Garuda" project, which aims to shore up northern Jakarta from historically deadly floods while revamping the capital's image into a Singapore-like waterfront city.

Jakarta is famed for its slums that are scattered across the city | Wikicommons

Included in the master plan is the building of 17 artificial islands off Jakarta's northern coast, where property developers plan to build shopping malls and attractions similar to Singapore's Sentosa Island.

However, work on the project will now be suspended for six months, said Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, after officials named the president director of property developer PT Agung Podomoro Tbk a suspect in bribing a city council member to influence the decision making project.

Authorities have also imposed a travel ban on the head of another property company, Agung Sedayu Group, and could soon name more suspects in the case, putting the entire project — and city — at risk.

"We see this as a big case because it involves a Jakarta program that is quite huge and that has become the object of the world's attention," Saut Situmorang, one of the key anti-graft investigators, told Reuters.

Source: One of the World's Biggest Cities Is Literally Sinking and Its Not the One You Think