Explained | Why Indonesia has moved its capital
The Hindu
Studies have forecast that the entire city could sink by 2050, while flooding is a recurring problem.
The story so far: On January 18, Indonesia’s Parliament approved a bill from Jakarta to a new city to be built on the island of Borneo, named as Nusantara. The decision followed growing concerns about the long-term sustainability of Jakarta. The move to the forested province of East Kalimantan in Borneo has, however, triggered its own concerns about the environmental impact there as the massive project now kicks off.
In August 2019, President Joko Widodo first announced that the capital would be shifted from Jakarta, on the island of Java, which has served as the national capital since Indonesia’s independence, to a new city to be built in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, some 2,000 km northeast of Jakarta across the Java Sea. As visitors to Jakarta would attest, the teeming city has suffered from a range of urban problems from overcrowding to pollution and possibly one of the world’s most congested roads. One major concern about its long-term future was tied to the fact that the city, home to around 10 million people, stands on a swamp on the island of Java and has been slowly sinking. Studies have forecast that the entire city could sink by 2050, while flooding is a recurring problem.