NEW FOREST CITY
Indonesia abandoning Jakarta and building new capital on rainforest island of Borneo before world’s third largest city SINKS into the ground
INDONESIA is abandoning its capital city of Jakarta and instead building a new one on the island of Borneo, a province of East Kalimantan.
The decision comes as the current capital, which is home to more than 10million people, is sinking into the ground as nearly half of the city already sits below sea level.
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President Joko Widodo said three years of intense study saw officials identify the future capital which sits on the eastern side of the island as the ideal location.
The island is the third largest in the world and is at the centre of the archipelago nation, with the move expected to take up to 10 years and cost £26.7billion.
£26BILLION DECISION
The site of the new capital, 1,250miles northeast of Jakarta, is one of the regions least prone to the natural disasters that regularly hit the archipelago of 17,000 islands.
Most of the move will be funded by cooperation between the government and businesses and by direct investment by state-run firms.
The burden Jakarta is holding right now is too heavy as the centre of governance, business, finance, trade and services
Joko Widodo
Around 19 per cent will come from the government's budget.
The new city will sit in between two undeveloped regions of Kutai Kertanegara and Penajam Paser Utara.
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In a televised speech, the Indonesian president said: "The location is very strategic - it's in the centre of Indonesia and close to urban areas.
"The burden Jakarta is holding right now is too heavy as the centre of governance, business, finance, trade and services."
He also added the city already has a relatively complete infrastructure with it being near the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda.
GROWING POPULATION
The new city is said to be at"minimal" risk of natural disasters.
In a televised speech, Widodo said the burden on Jakarta had become too much, with it being home to the government, the country's largest seaport and airport, and the centre for finance, trade and business.
The decision to relocate the country's capital city was because the government wants to spread the country's wealth and population.
We couldn't continue to allow the burden on Jakarta and Java island to increase in terms of population density
Joko Widodo
Currently, 54 per cent of the country's 270 million population live on Java, making it the most populated area in Indonesia.
Widodo added: "We couldn't continue to allow the burden on Jakarta and Java island to increase in terms of population density.
"Economic disparities between Java and elsewhere would also increase."
Officials say they want the new capital to be “a smart city in the forest” and have set aside 445,000 acres of government land.
Why is Jakarta sinking?
Jakarta is sinking due to rising sea levels and the over-extraction of groundwater.
More than 60 per cent of Jakarta's resident use groundwater.
This consequently makes floods worse as floodwater is unable to flow into the ocean.
The city is sinking by an average of 10in a year and almost half the city now sits below sea level.
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But environmentalists fear the move will hasten the destruction of forests that are home to orangutans, sun bears and long-nosed monkeys.
Greenpeace senior forest campaigner Jasmine Puteri said: “The move will have an environmental impact.
“Jakarta has suffered so many failures from pollution, water crisis, and flooding. We don’t want these problems in the new capital.”
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