Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Aview of the area around Samboja, Kutai Kartanegara, one of two locations proposed by the government for Indonesia’s new capital.

Indonesia names site of capital city to replace sinking Jakarta

Indonesia has announced plans to move its capital from the climate-threatened megalopolis of Jakarta to the sparsely populated island of Borneo, which is home to some of the world’s greatest tropical rainforests. Choice of Borneo for £27bn project raises fears of forest destruction and pollution

President Joko Widodo said the move was necessary because the burden on Jakarta was “too heavy”, but environmentalists said the $33bn relocation needed to be carefully handled or it would result in fleeing one ecological disaster only to create another.

As well as dire problems of pollution and traffic congestion, Jakarta suffers from severe subsidence, which makes the coastal city extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels.

Poor urban planning on land that was originally swamp, along with the unregulated draining of aquifers, has left 40% of the city under sea level. The worst affected neighbourhoods are reportedly sinking 10-20cm per year – one of the fastest rates in the world.

Although the government has planned huge new sea defences, Widodo has expressed frustration at the slow pace of progress. “This huge project will need to be done quickly to prevent Jakarta from sinking under the sea,” he said last month.

The relocation aims to ease the pressure on Jakarta by moving its administrative functions about 1,000km to Kalimantan, which is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo (which is also shared with Malaysia and Brunei.) Jakarta will continue to be a commercial and financial centre, and the majority of its nearly 10 million residents are likely to stay.

If parliament approves, construction on the new capital would begin next year on a plot of 40,000 hectares. By around 2024, the government expects to start moving some of its 1.5 million civil servants to the new bureaucratic centre.

Widodo has stressed that relocation – which was first mooted decades ago – will put the capital in the centre of Indonesia’s archipelago of 17,000 islands, and address inequality.

“The location is very strategic – it’s in the centre of Indonesia and close to urban areas,” the president said in a televised speech. “The burden Jakarta is holding right now is too heavy as the centre of governance, business, finance, trade and services,” he explained.

Jakarta has sucked people and money to the island of Java, which is home to 60% of the country’s population and more than half of its economic activity. Kalimantan is almost four times bigger, but accounts for less than a tenth of the gross domestic production. Despite the presence of a few major cities, its population density is 38 times lower than that of Java.

The government says its wants to build a smart, green city on state land near the existing urban centres of Balikpapan and Samarinda and has promised the environmental impact will be positive.

“We will not disturb any existing protected forest, instead we will rehabilitate it,” the planning minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, was reported as saying in the South China Morning Post.

But conservationists fear the plan – and the surge in the number of newcomers – may put further pressure on the rainforest habit species, such as the orangutan. “The government must make sure that the new capital is not built in a conservation or protected area,” the Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Jasmine Putri told AFP.

Known as Kalimantan, Indonesia’s section of Borneo – the island it shares with Malaysia and Brunei – is home to major mining activities as well as rainforests, and is one of the few places on Earth with orangutans in their natural habitat.

Senior officials said they would learn from other countries that have moved their administrative and judicial centres, such as Australia with Canberra, Malaysia with Putrajaya, and Brazil with Brasilia, though in the latter case this involved clearing swathes of tropical savanna.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×