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Jakarta is sinking. The Indonesian government confirmed plans to relocate its capital city to Nusantara, on the island of Borneo, due to increasingly severe environmental challenges facing the current capital. The move, formally approved by parliament in 2022, is a response to a confluence of factors including land subsidence, rising sea levels, and increasingly frequent flooding, threatening the future of the megacity.
The decision to abandon Jakarta, home to over 10.5 million people, underscores the escalating impact of climate change and environmental degradation in Southeast Asia. According to a 2022 report by Al Jazeera, a quarter of the city could be underwater by 2050. This is compounded by the fact that Jakarta is built on unstable land and relies heavily on groundwater extraction, accelerating land subsidence.
The fresh capital, Nusantara, located more than 1,000 kilometers away in East Kalimantan province, is intended to be a sustainable and modern city. While the project is ambitious, it faces significant logistical and financial hurdles. The construction is estimated to cost $34 billion, according to the Associated Press, and the relocation process is expected to take years to complete.
Jakarta’s challenges extend beyond sinking land. The city is too notorious for traffic congestion and poor air quality, contributing to a diminished quality of life for its residents. The move to Nusantara is intended to alleviate these pressures and create a more livable environment for the country’s administrative functions.
Despite the long-term plan to relocate the capital, Jakarta will remain Indonesia’s economic, cultural, and political center, according to Wikipedia. The city is the second largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), after Singapore, and ranks first among Indonesian provinces in the human development index. The transition will be gradual, with government functions being transferred to Nusantara in phases.
As of mid-2024, Jakarta’s population stood at 10,684,946, making it the most populous city in Indonesia. The current governor of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta is Pramono Anung, and the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) serves as the legislative body. The administrative divisions of Jakarta include Central Jakarta, North Jakarta, South Jakarta, West Jakarta, East Jakarta, and the Thousand Islands.
The Indonesian government has not yet announced a definitive timeline for the complete transfer of all government functions to Nusantara. The project continues to move forward, but faces ongoing scrutiny regarding its environmental impact and financial sustainability.