Researched by: Sara Varghese

First, the basic deets

Back in 2019, President Joko Widodo announced his grand plan to move the capital to East Kalimantan in Borneo—which is about 2,000 km (1,250 miles) north-east of Jakarta. At the time, few took his proposal seriously. But despite setbacks due to the pandemic, Widodo is determined to push on—and claims the move will be complete by 2024. That said, Jakarta will remain the financial capital a la Mumbai.

The move: Here’s where the capital is moving: 

The capital’s name: will be Nusantara which means ‘archipelago’. This is a bit confusing since the name is also an old Javanese term for Indonesia itself. 

Point to note: A number of other countries have moved their capital in recent years. These include neighbouring Malaysia (to Putrajaya in 2003) and Myanmar (to Naypyidaw in 2006)—and others like Kazakhstan and Nigeria. 

Why are they moving?

For a number of pressing reasons—the most pressing being overcrowding and climate change.

Jakarta is sinking: It is the fastest sinking city in the world. Data point to note: North Jakarta has sunk 2.5 metres in 10 years. About 40% of the city of 10 million now lies under sea level, with some neighborhoods sinking 7 inches a year. The number one reason: severe groundwater depletion that has caused the ground to sink—”when groundwater is pumped out, the land above it sinks as if it is sitting on a deflating balloon,” explained in the BBC report below:

Two: Rising sea levels due to climate change. The waters are expanding because of extra heat—and the melting polar ice caps. Left unchecked, 95% of North Jakarta will be entirely submerged by 2050. 

Overcrowded and polluted: The current population of Jakarta is 10.4 million crammed within just 661.5 sq km. In comparison, East Kalimantan has 3.6 million residents spread across 127,346.92 sq km. The traffic jams in the city are notoriously bad—ranked as seventh worst in the world—and cost the economy $6.8 billion every year. All that overcrowding also makes Jakarta one of the most air polluted cities in the world—alongside Delhi. 

Economic concentration: The aim is not just to ease Jakarta’s woes, but also to spread the wealth. As President Widodo points out, the country has 17,000 islands—“We need to distribute the population and economy to other islands.” Jakarta is located on the island of Java—which accounts for 58% of the GDP—while Kalimantan contributes only 8% despite being four times larger than Java.

To sum up: This is the problem with Jakarta:

“Jakarta is an archetypical Asian mega-city with 10 million people, or 30 million including those in its greater metropolitan area. It is prone to earthquakes and flooding and is rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled extraction of ground water. The groundwater is highly contaminated as are its rivers.”

In other words, it is rapidly becoming unlivable.

Where are they moving?

The location: Nusantara will be built over 180,000 hectares of state-owned forest land and 110 coal mining concessions. Widodo claims: “The location is very strategic—it's in the centre of Indonesia and close to urban areas”. LA Times is more poetic in its description: “East Kalimantan serves as a gateway to Borneo’s mythical jungles, the backdrop to Joseph Conrad novels and home to the native Dayak tribes once feared for headhunting.”

Fancy new digs: Last year, the government revealed building plans for the new state palace—and got widely heckled for its over-the-top design by famous sculptor Nyoman Nuarta. The final design looks like this:

And you can get a sense of the vision for the city—which is being touted as a “green,” “smart” and “sustainable” city below:

Financing: Just a fifth of the costs will be borne by the government, and private investors will foot the rest of the bill. Developers are already scrambling to buy up land—announcing plans for luxury apartments, hotels etc. The price of land has soared from $1,800 per acre to $20,000.

Sounds good. So what’s the problem?

Frying pan to fire? Borneo is considered to be safer from natural disasters—that are a hazard in a country on a seismic and volcanic active belt known as the Ring of Fire. But this is also home to coal mining and plantations:

“Stories abound of fatal falls and drownings in abandoned coal pits. Underground coal fires have been known to smolder for years. And slash-and-burn deforestation has fanned toxic air pollution that’s contributed to respiratory diseases and premature deaths.”

Environmental disaster? The region is already suffering from widespread deforestation due to extensive logging, palm oil plantations, pulp and paper mills, and forest fires. At least 30% of the forest cover has been lost to these activities. It is also home to highly endangered orangutans and sun bears, the world’s smallest species of bears. Not helping: The regional governor’s statements to this effect: “We will do more of everything. Mining, gas, oil, coal, maybe forestry, plantations, fisheries and so on.”

Key point to note: Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions are already among the highest in the world—and development in Borneo may make them worse:

“Borneo's forests consist largely of peatland, a type of wetland that holds about 12 times more carbon than other tropical rainforests. Just one hectare of peatland can release around 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide when it's torn down.”

Displacing the indigenous: In making its big plans, the government has not consulted the current residents of Kalimantan: the Dayaks—who are in great danger of being kicked out by developers. These people who have been living here for centuries don’t have legal proof of land ownership. As one environmentalist sums it up:

"The Dayaks have been persistent victims of environmental degradation… The abandonment of Jakarta due to pollution and overcrowding is hardly an endorsement for a move into someone else's backyard where the same will likely occur."

The bottomline: President Widodo has decided that it is easier to build a new house than fixing an old one that is falling apart. But a government that lacks the will to tackle Jakarta’s woes is almost guaranteed to export them to Nusantara.

Reading list

Benar News has the most details on the big move. Los Angeles Times and Business Insider have the best overviews of the environmental challenges. BBC News has more on the potential perils for Kalimantan—and Jakarta sinking into the sea. For a more sympathetic view, read this essay in the Berkeley Economic Review.