At the end of April, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, ordered ministers to make plans to switch the capital within the next 10 years. The reason for this change is that the current capital, Jakarta, is literally sinking. According to specialists, it will be completely under water in the next 30 years.

One of the reasons water is taking over the city is because it is constantly flooded, as it is cut by 13 rivers and is located on the shore of the Java Sea. Two other factors are making it worse. First, global warming is making icecaps melt and, consequently, raising sea levels. Also, residents and Jakarta factories use underground water everyday which could lead to collapse.

There are areas in Jakarta that have been sinking 25 centimetres per year.

For the capital move to occur, several government agencies will have to be transferred – such as the parliament and ministries – to a new place. This would cost 33 billion dollars (or close to 133 billion reais). Until the completion of this JOCA issue, there was no official word on defining the new capital of Indonesia.

Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, Época Negócios, Newselam The Guardian, and Wired.

QUESTIONS

1. Which of the alternatives below does not correspond to what was said in
the text?

a. Jakarta will be totally underwater in the next 30 years.
b. The city suffers from being close to the world’s northern ice caps.
c. There are areas in the city that sink approximately 25 centimetres every year.
d. There is a high cost to transfer the capital to another city.

2. What would you do if the city where you live was at risk of sinking? Why?

*Answer: B

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