Indonesia has announced plans for the construction of a new capital city, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan on Borneo island. The ambitious project will be inaugurated next year and is set to be completed by 2045 at a cost of about $34 billion.
Jakarta, the present capital, is not only one of the most polluted and crowded cities in the world, but also the fastest-sinking. Nusantara is meant to alleviate some of the environmental stresses facing Jakarta.
Home to roughly 30 million people, Jakarta houses 10 million within the city lines and another 20 million in the metropolitan area around it.
It is sinking at an unprecedented rate, and by 2050 is predicted to have lost a third of the city to the Java sea. The main cause is the unregulated use of groundwater coupled with climate change which has made the problem worse by raising the level of the Java Sea.
Air and groundwater pollution are severe, flooding occurs frequently, and traffic congestion is so bad that it is expected to cost the economy $4.5 billion a year.
President Joko Widodo hopes that building a new capital will solve the challenges facing Indonesia by displacing its current population and giving the country a clean slate on which to build a “sustainable city.” The government has promoted the sustainable and diverse new capital as a model for the future.
Indonesia’s Plans for the New Capital
Named after an old Javanese word meaning “archipelago”, Widodo wants to build a new city called Nusantara from the ground up, which will involve the construction of new government buildings and homes.
Ministries and government organizations are still trying to confirm the number of civil servants who will be transferred to the city located around 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) northeast of Jakarta.
Nusantara National Capital Authority head, Bambang Susantono has declared that 65 percent of the city’s land will be used to recreate the “forest city” concept.
Timed to coincide with Indonesia’s Independence Day on August 17 the city’s grand opening is planned for that day next year.
Environmental Concerns
Skeptics have expressed concern regarding the environmental effects of developing a massive city covering 256,000 hectares (990 square miles) in the East Kalimantan region of Borneo, which houses several flora and fauna species including the native mawas (orangutans) and leopards.
The Indonesian non-governmental organization Forest Watch Indonesia expressed concern in a report published that November 2022 that most of the forested areas in the new capital are “production forests,” meaning granting permission for logging and mining operations that increase the rate of deforestation is a real possibility. According to the research, the future of the new capital city area’s remaining natural woods has been uncertain up until this point.
Moreover, data analysis demonstrated that the area can anticipate an increase in the frequency of extremely hot days in the future.
Effects on the Indonesian Indigenous Population
More than a hundred members of the Indigenous Balik community have been forced to uproot their homes as a result of the construction, and more will likely have to leave as the site grows.
Local community leaders have reportedly given their blessing to the new capital, and those whose property is being utilised to build the city have been compensated, the government claims.
However, Sibukdin, an Indigenous leader who, like many in the country, goes by a single name and who resides in Sepaku, a ward very close to the construction area, said that residents of the area felt pressured to accept the government’s offer of compensation, despite their lack of knowledge about how compensation is calculated or whether or not it was fair.
Bambang Susantono, on the other hand claimed in a recent media interview that traditional knowledge of the indigenous population has been sought to be integrated into plans for future growth. According to him, the plan involves appropriately incorporating the knowledge of the locals.
The Indonesian government has established a number of forums open to all interested parties to ensure that the indigenous population will play a role in research and development.
The ministry of spatial plan and agriculture is currently working out the details of how to increase participation and broaden the scope of discussion.