JAKARTA:Indonesia will move its capital to the eastern edge of jungle-clad Borneoisland, President Joko Widodo said yesterday, as the country shifts itspolitical heart away from congested and sinking megalopolis Jakarta. Theproposed location - near the regional cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda - isan area at "minimal" risk of natural disasters, where the governmentalready owns some 180,000 hectares of land, he added.
"Thelocation is very strategic - it's in the center of Indonesia and close to urbanareas," Widodo said in a televised speech. "The burden Jakarta isholding right now is too heavy as the centre of governance, business, finance,trade and services," he added. The announcement ends months of speculationabout whether Widodo would follow through on the long-mooted plan - it wasfloated by the newly independent country's founding father Sukarno more thanhalf a century ago.
Shifting fromproblem-plagued Jakarta would also transfer Indonesia's power base off Javaisland, where about half of the sprawling archipelago's 260 million peoplelive. "Moving the capital off Java is a gesture that aims to solidifyunity," said Jakarta-based political risk analyst Kevin O'Rourke. "Jakartawill continue to be a megacity - as a center for finance and commerce - for afew more decades, but ultimately it is at severe risk to climate change,"he added.
A bill for theproposed move will now be presented to parliament, Widodo said. Building is setto begin next year with the move of some 1.5 million civil servants slated tobegin by 2024, at a cost of 466 trillion rupiah ($33 billion), officials said.Known as Kalimantan, Indonesia's section of Borneo - the island it shares withMalaysia and Brunei - is home to major mining activities as well asrainforests, and is one of the few places on Earth with orangutans in theirnatural habitat.
Environmentalistsexpressed concerns the capital city move could threaten endangered species."The government must make sure that the new capital is not built in aconservation or protected area," said Greenpeace Indonesia campaignerJasmine Putri. The region has also been blanketed in choking haze from annualforest fires that ravage vast swathes of land. "That makes Kalimantanunfit as a candidate for a new capital city," said Jakarta-based urbanplanning expert Nirwono Joga. "And the move won't necessarily free Jakartaof problems like flooding, traffic jams and rapid urbanization," he added.
Concerns havesoared over the future of Jakarta - a city nicknamed "the Big Durian"after the pungent, spiky fruit that deeply divides fans and detractors. Builton swampland, the city is one of the fastest-sinking cities on earth, withexperts warning that one third of it could be submerged by 2050 if currentrates continue. The problem is largely linked to excessive groundwaterextraction.
But the city of10 million - a number that bloats to about 30 million with surroundingsatellite cities - is also plagued by a host of other ills, from eye-wateringtraffic jams and pollution to the risk of earthquakes and floods. Indonesia isnot the first Southeast Asian country to move its capital. Myanmar and Malaysiahave both moved their seat of government, while Brazil, Pakistan and Nigeriaare among the nations that have also shifted their capital cities. - AFP