Indonesia wants to change its capital due to the climate crisis / Jakarta, one of the largest metropolises in the world, will be replaced by Nusantra, a city still under construction

Indonesia plans to move its capital from Jakarta to the new city of Nusantara. The new city will cost $35 billion and won’t be completed until 2045. The move was sparked by the climate crisis, as Jakarta is threatened by rising sea levels, writes Business Insider.

Jakarta, located on the northwest coast of the island of Java at the mouth of the Ciliwung River, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia.

About 10.6 million people live here and about 30 million in the metropolitan area. It is also sinking, with about 40% of the surface now below sea level.

The Indonesian government plans to move the capital to Nusantara, a new city being built on the east coast of Borneo, about 1,400 miles north of Jakarta.

It will cost about $35 billion and won’t be completed until 2045. However, about 6,000 government employees are expected to move there in time for the inauguration of the country’s next president in October.

The decision is not without precedent. Brazil switched from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia in 1960, while Abuja replaced Lagos as Nigeria’s capital in 1991.

But it is the first time that the climate crisis is playing a role in this process. In recent years, rising sea levels have made Jakarta the world’s fastest-sinking megacity.

A new beginning

In August 2019, Indonesian President Joko Widodo approved a plan to move the capital from Jakarta to Nusantara.

The location in East Kalimantan was chosen because it is close to the sea and there is a relatively low risk of earthquakes, tsunamis or volcanic eruptions.

“Nusantara” roughly translates to “outer islands” and the name was chosen to reflect President Widodo’s geopolitical vision and to evoke Indonesia’s archipelagic nature. The country’s 276 million inhabitants are spread over more than 17,000 islands – Borneo, the island on which Nusantara is built, is one of the largest and most important.

Borneo is known for its 140-million-year-old rainforests, which are home to endangered indigenous species.

About three-quarters of the island is Indonesian territory, with the rest represented by Malaysia and Brunei. Borneo as a whole has a population of about 23 million.

President Widodo sent about 100,000 workers to begin construction of the new city, but this number later increased to 150,000, and then to 200,000 as construction progressed.

A network of roads has been carved into the forest as early as 2022 so that construction of government facilities and other housing can begin. The initial population is expected to be around 500,000 people, according to the project’s website.