Jakarta's Giant Sea Wall & National Capital Integrated Coastal Development

Part of the NCICD masterplan is the construction of a Giant Sea Wall in front of Jakarta's coastal line. This sea wall, which is designed in the form of a Garuda (the large mythical bird which is Indonesia's national symbol) with its wings spread, is an enclosing dyke that protects Jakarta against floods caused by high tides. Immediate action is needed as the northern part of Jakarta is sinking quickly because of groundwater extraction. It is estimated that the northern part of Jakarta - an area covering 1.5 million hectares - sinks by about seven to ten centimeters per year. If the area falls below sea-level it can have devastating effects. The construction of the Giant Sea Wall, currently the world's greatest planned hydraulic engineering work, would cost about USD $40 billion and will need 20 years of construction. The length of the giant sea wall may reach between 35 and 60 kilometers (from the city of Tangerang in the west of Jakarta to Jakarta's Tanjung Priok harbor. Funds to finance the construction should originate from the regional and central state budgets as well as from the private sector. However, currently only the Artha Graha Group has shown interest in the project (the feasibility study for the NCICD was largely financed by the Dutch government). Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Environment Melanie Schultz van Haegan, who went on a visit to Jakarta joined by about 20 Dutch entrepreneurs, said that a number of Dutch companies are interested to invest in Jakarta's Giant Sea Wall. Some of these companies are already active in Indonesia. However, she did not mention any names.

Apart from averting floods, the NCICD also involves the establishment of a new integrated city on 17 artificial islands, complete with toll roads, a rail way and seaport, which can absorb about 1.5 to 2 million people. Jakarta is currently overcrowded and its infrastructure is inadequate. As such, doubts have emerged about the sustainability of the city toward the future. The NCICD is designed to relieve pressures on the existing city.

In 2013, Dutch-based Van Oord was contracted to dredge sand from the seabed for the construction of the first residential island in the bay of Jakarta (the first of 17 planned artificial islands). Van Oord, in cooperation with Boskalis, is now conducting a feasibility study for the second island, which should contain apartment complexes and office space. The exploitation of these residential and work islands as well as the sale of new port areas are needed to finance a large part of the Giant Sea Wall (although it will require almost USD $13.8 billion worth of investments - as advanced payments - from the government to initiate the project).

However, as Indonesia is entering a period of elections (the legislative election will be held on 9 April 2014 and the country's presidential election on 9 July 2014), any major decisions will be left to the new government. One positive note is that the current Governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi), is probably the most popular presidential candidate and has stated on various occasions that he supports realization of the NCICD masterplan. Therefore, there may be a big correlation between Jokowi's victory and full commitment of the future Indonesian government to realize implementation of the NCICD masterplan.

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