Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has been reported to say that that the country’s capital will be moved from Jakarta, on Java Island, to East Kalimantan Province on the eastern part of the island of Borneo.
The president said studies have shown that “the most ideal location for the new capital is in some parts of the regencies of Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kartanegara” in the province.
With Jokowi pitching the new capital as a symbol of Indonesian identity and progress, the project will be a significant part of his legacy. Authorities have talked about building a modern, smart and green city which can serve as the capital for a century.
The area chosen for the new capital and yet to be named is free from risks of natural disasters and is close to cities such as Balikpapan and Samarinda, Jokowi said. The government controls about 180,000 hectares of land in the area.
The government plans to begin construction of the new city by the end of 2020 and relocate the capital in phases from 2024, according to Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro. The project will be financed by the government as well as through private-public partnerships.
With Jokowi pitching the new capital as a symbol of Indonesian identity and progress, the project will be a significant part of his legacy. Authorities have talked about building a modern, smart and green city which can serve as the capital for a century.
In April, Jokowi decided to relocate the capital in five to 10 years after taking into account economic losses of 56 trillion rupiah (about $4 billion) a year due to traffic congestion in Jakarta, based on 2013 data.
In July the Royal Coast Review reported that he had ambitious plans for Jakarta, a congested, polluted and sprawling metropolis of 10 million. He wanted to build a new capital, suggesting it should be outside Indonesia’s main island of Java, where 57 percent of the country’s nearly 270 million people are concentrated.
“We want to separate the capital, the centre of government and Jakarta as a business and economic centre,” he said. Jakarta’s vulnerability to flooding and earthquakes is also a factor, Widodo said. “We need to make sure our capital is safe from disasters,” he said, without then naming the location for the new capital.
Indonesia shares Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei.
