Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to a site 2,000 kilometers away on jungle-clad Borneo island that will be named “Nusantara.”
The House of Representatives vote provides the legal framework for the move, which was first tipped by President Joko Widodo in April 2019, citing rising sea levels and severe congestion on densely populated Java island.
Home to more than 30 million people in its greater metro area, Jakarta has long been plagued by serious infrastructure problems and flooding exacerbated by climate change, with experts predicting up to a third of the city could be underwater by 2050.
The new capital will cover about 56,180 hectares in East Kalimantan Province on the Indonesian part of Borneo, which the country shares with Malaysia and Brunei. In all, 256,142 hectares have been set aside for the project.
Early plans for the new capital depict a utopian design aimed at creating an environmentally friendly “smart” city, but few details have been confirmed.
Environmentalist critics of the capital’s move have warned it could damage ecosystems in the region, where mining and palm oil plantations already threaten rainforests that are home to Borneo’s endangered species.
On Monday, Widodo said the new capital would be one “where the people are close from any destination, where they can bike and walk everywhere because there are zero emissions.”
“This [capital] will not only have government offices, we want to build a new smart metropolis that can be a magnet for global talent and a center of innovation,” he said in a speech.
“Nusantara,” which means “archipelago,” was chosen from a list of 80 names because it was widely recognizable by Indonesians and easy to memorize, the nation’s development minister, Suharso Monoarfa, said Monday.
Indonesia is not the first country in the region to relocate from an overpopulated capital.
Malaysia moved its government to Putrajaya from Kuala Lumpur in 2003, while Myanmar moved its capital to Naypyidaw from Rangoon in 2006.
A woman poses for photos during the celebration of the 76th Independence Day of Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aug. 17, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)
