Indonesia will build its new capital city on the island of Borneo, as the nation reckons with environmental degradation and climate change threatening its current capital Jakarta.
The Guardian reports Indonesian President Joko Widodo made the announcement yesterday, saying the nation’s new administrative centre will find a home in the East Kalimantan province.
The build is projected to cost USD$33 billion (A$48.8 billion) and won’t kick off until 2024. 1.5 million civil servants are expected to eventually relocate to the as-yet unnamed city.
“The burden Jakarta is holding right now is too heavy as the centre of governance, business, finance, trade and services,” Widodo said, but the problem is environmental as much as it is logistical.
Jakarta, which contains roughly ten million people, is sinking. Illegal use of groundwater has sapped the aquifer underneath the metropolis, causing the ground itself to sag. BBC reports North Jakarta has dipped 2.5 metres in the past decade, a worst-case climate scenarios show the region will be 95% submerged by 2050.
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While the majority of Jakarta residents are expected to just, well, make do with the fact we’re cooking the planet, the new city could present an entirely new climate conundrum.
Borneo is home to huge tracts of forest and native wildlife, causing Greenpeace environmentalist Jasmine Puteri to say the new city “will have an environmental impact” unless the build is strictly managed.
The Guardian states Indonesia will take advice from other nations who’ve built new capitals before they embark on Neo Jakarta. Read: Indonesian officials are going to investigate Canberra before breaking ground.
We hope they like roundabouts and a vibrant nightlife.
