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5/06/2019

Topic Reading-Vol.2581-5/6/2019


Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Indonesia's planning minister announces capital city move
Located on the northwest coast of the world's most populous island, Java, Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country. The megacity is the center of economics, culture, and policy of the world’s fourth most populous country. Sitting on swampy land and crisscrossed by 13 rivers, the megacity with a population of 10 million has two serious problems. It has the world’s worst traffic congestion. With over 13 million motorcycles and 4.4 million cars running on the roads, rush hour is a nightmare. Another problem of Jakarta is that the city is sinking at a rate of one to 15cm a year. Half of Jakarta is already below sea level and large parts of the city are predicted to submerge by the middle of the century. In fact, some places in Jakarta has sunk four meters four decades. Besides the geographical factor, the major cause of this sinking problem is the fact that over 60% of the residents pump out water from the ground for their everyday use.
So, the newly reelected president wants to relocate the capital to another island.
Is this a good solution or best use of tax? What will those abandoned residents and businesses do with the sinking problem? Should the government be the first to evacuate from the sinking capital?
Enjoy reading the article and learn about a solution that only saves the government but not the 10 million residents of the sinking capital.

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