Too ambitious? Jakarta to build wall against floods

Will such an ambitious plan ever be completed, given Indonesia’s bad record on infrastructure projects? Jakarta has launched a multi-billion-dollar scheme to build a huge sea wall to combat flooding as the Indonesian capital sinks. The 35-kilometer wall, across the Bay of Jakarta off the city’s northern coast, is the centerpiece of a project that will cost up to $40 billion over three decades, and also includes reclaiming land for 17 new islands. While the aim is to prevent floods, it is hoped up to one million people will live and work on the islands, and help take pressure off a crowded city notorious as one of the world’s most uninviting urban sprawls. But there is skepticism about its chances of success in a country with a history of corruption and failed megaprojects.

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