Indonesia has announced it is moving its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara — which in the Javanese language simply means “an archipelago” — 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) northeast of Jakarta.
Jakarta is congested, polluted, prone to earthquakes and rapidly sinking into the Java Sea as the sea’s water level continues to rise from the phenomenon of climate change.
It has been described as the world’s most rapidly sinking city and estimates say at least one-third of the city could be submerged by 2050.
Jakarta is overpopulated with about 10 million people but the greater metropolitan area is at 34 million – making it one of the world’s most congested cities.
But the Indonesian government hopes its new capital – the 256,000-hectare (990-square-mile) Nusantara on the island of Borneo in East Kalimantan province, is an opportunity to build a befitting and “sustainable forest city”. Development is expected to be completed in 2045 but the new capital will be inaugurated in Indonesia’s next Independence Day on August 17, 2024.
The government has begun constructing new government buildings and housing from scratch.
However, environmentalists are worried that massive deforestation to build the new capital could threaten the habitat of endangered species such as orangutans and imperil the homes of Indigenous communities.
President Joko Widodo envisions the development of the new capital as a solution to Jakarta’s problems reducing its population and lifting pressure off the city and its public services.
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