One of the world’s largest cities is sinking – GorjOnline

The new capital is expected to be completed in 2045.

Located on the northwest coast of the island of Java, at the mouth of the Ciliwung River, the current capital, Jakarta, is Indonesia’s largest city. About 10.6 million people live here and about 30 million in the metropolitan area. About 40% of its surface is currently below sea level, and the forecast is bleak.

In recent years, rising sea levels have made Jakarta the fastest-sinking metropolis, prompting the Indonesian government to move the capital to Nusantara, a new city being built on the east coast of Borneo – one of the largest islands in the world – about 870 miles north of Jakarta.

Nusantara City is costing about $35 billion to build and will not be completed until 2045. However, about 6,000 government workers are expected to move there in time for the inauguration of the incoming president in October.

Precedents
The decision has precedents in other countries. Brazil switched from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia in 1960, while in Nigeria Abuja replaced the capital Lagos, but this is the first time the climate crisis has played a role in the process.

After a mosque was damaged by rising sea levels in Jakarta, environmental experts warn that a third of the current capital could be submerged by 2050 if subsidence continues at its current rate (15 centimeters per year).

About Nusantara
The plan to move the capital from Jakarta to Nusantara was approved in August 2019 by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

East Kalimantan was chosen for the construction of the future city of Nusantara (which roughly translates to “outer islands”) because it is close to the sea and there is a relatively low risk of earthquakes, tsunamis or volcanic eruptions.

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The location was chosen to reflect Widodo’s geopolitical vision, but also to reflect Indonesia’s unity as an archipelagic state, with the country’s 276 million inhabitants spread across more than 17,000 islands.

The island of Borneo is known for its 140-million-year-old rainforests, which are home to endangered indigenous species, including the Borneo orangutan.

Three-quarters of the island is Indonesian territory, while the rest is shared between Malaysia and Brunei.

The island has a total population of approximately 23 million inhabitants.

Construction began in July 2022
About 100,000 workers were mobilized in 2022 to begin construction of Nusantara, and the number of workers increased as construction accelerated to 150,000-200,000.

As recently as two years ago, a network of roads was carved into the forest so that construction of government facilities and housing could begin.

The initial population of the future capital is estimated at approximately 500,000 inhabitants.

A “green” metropolis
Nusantara aims to be a “green, pedestrianized” metropolis powered entirely by renewable energy by 2045.

The new capital will benefit from a 50 megawatt solar power plant and allow only electric vehicles by the end of this decade.

It is not clear, however, where the money will come from to complete the huge project estimated at around 35 billion dollars.

The Indonesian government has pledged to provide only 20 percent of the funds and is struggling to find other sources of funding after Japan’s SoftBank pulled out of its investment in the project in March 2022, according to Business Insider.