Indonesia’s new capital replaces the sinking Jakarta

The government said in a statement that Nusantara was chosen with Indonesia’s future in mind. The first phase of the move will take place between 2022 and 2024. The government centre will be relocated during the next decade, and the concept of a “World City for All” will be realised by 2045.

The Indonesian Parliament has enacted legislation to rename Nusantara as the country’s capital. This is the biggest step forward for a notion that the country’s leaders have been playing with for years. The new state capital law, which establishes a legislative basis for President Joko Widodo’s $32 billion megaproject, also specifies how the capital’s development will be funded and administered.

After the bill was passed into law, Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa informed parliament, “The new capital has a central function and is a symbol of the nation’s identity, as well as a new centre of economic gravity.”

Why is Indonesia’s capital being relocated from Jakarta?

Because of Jakarta’s vulnerability to flooding as a result of climate change, the strategy was devised. The suffocating metropolis is also plagued by persistent traffic and pollution. According to Monoarfa, the capital city’s relocation to Nusantara is based on a number of factors, including regional benefits and welfare, as well as a vision of the formation of a new economic centre of gravity in the middle of the archipelago. President Joko Widodo had planned to relocate the capital in 2019, however the relocation was postponed owing to the coronavirus disease pandemic Covid-19

What is the rate of sinking in Jakarta?

Jakarta is one of the world’s fastest sinking cities, according to the World Economic Forum, since it rests on swampy land near the sea, leaving it especially vulnerable to flooding (WEF). Due to over-extraction of groundwater, it has been sinking at an alarming rate into the Java Sea. Jakarta is also one of the most densely populated cities on the planet. According to the United Nations, it is home to more than 10 million people, with an estimated 30 million in the broader metropolitan region.

Nusantara’s Facts

Widodo has decided on the name of the new city. It’s a Javanese word that means “archipelago” in English. It is found on the island of Borneo, in the Kalimantan jungle. The overall land area for the new capital city would be roughly 256,143 hectares (around 2,561 square kilometres), according to data from the National Planning and Development Agency, with almost all of it converted from forest land. Borneo, the world’s third-largest island, is primarily owned by Indonesia, with Malaysia and Brunei both owning portions of its northern section. The first phase of the move will take place between 2022 and 2024.

Nusantara would follow in the footsteps of other countries’ new capitals, including Brazil and Myanmar. The government stated in a statement that it will enhance supply chains and put Indonesia “in a more important position in world trade routes, investment flows, and technological innovation.” The government has termed the new capital a low-carbon “super centre” that will help the pharmaceutical, health, and technology industries while also promoting long-term growth beyond Java Island. Nusantara will be led by a top authority who will have the status of a minister.