Indonesia migrated its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara. Recently, The Indonesian Government sanctioned the bill favoring the relocation of Indonesia’s new capital.
Being one of the significant advancements in the nation, Indonesia new capital will be gifted with several developmental programs. The development is divided into five major stages, expected to cost around 466 trillion rupiahs ($32 billion). Moreover, the relocation procedure will be commenced in 2022.
Suharso Monoarfa, the planning minister told parliament after the bill was passed into law that “The new capital has a central function and is a symbol of the identity of the nation, as well as a new center of economic gravity.“
Above all, one of the essential factors to underline is- why Indonesia changed its capital? Where is Nusantara? And what all developments will be seen in the future?
Why did Indonesia turn its Capital into Nusantara?
The idea of changing the country’s capital came into the limelight after noticing Jakarta sinking into floods and climate change. Additionally, the Indonesia capital (Jakarta) was also experiencing several chronic obstructions and air pollution.
Mr. Monoarfa added that the relocation of the capital is based on several measures which include regional advantages, and welfare behind the project of the archipelago. Earlier in 2019, President Joko Widodo announced the relocation of Indonesia new capital city for the very first time.
However, due to the outburst of the pandemic, the program was postponed to the year 2022. Regarding many environmental, social, and several other reasons, the decision was taken in the welfare of the longevity of the place (Jakarta).
About Nusantara- Indonesia New Capital
Known as “archipelago” in the Indonesian language, the place was firstly chosen Widodo as the new capital city of Indonesia. Nusantara is majorly a Javanese term. The place can be located in the woods of Kalimantan on Borneo Island (a mineral-rich station in Indonesia).
The data of the National Planning and Development Agency conveys that, the total land area of Nusantara is around 256,143 hectares (around 2,561 square kilometers). Knowingly, Borneo is the world’s third-largest Indonesia island, associated with Malaysia and Brunei each of them from the northern region, that is, North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara.
Nevertheless, Indonesia owns the majority of Borneo. “Nusantara was chosen because it reflected Indonesia’s geography, and was iconic internationally,” said Suharso Monoarfa, said the national development planning minister. Earlier, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo added “The government has conducted in-depth studies in the past three years and as a result of those studies the new capital will be built.
Do you know? It has been pre-stated that Jakarta, which is a capital of around 10 million individuals will soon sink in the upcoming 30 years.
In 2018, Heri Andreas, who has done great research work on Jakarta’s land subsidence for the past 20 years at the Bandung Institute of Technology, was quoted “If we look at our models, by 2050 about 95 percent of North Jakarta will be submerged,” in the BBC.
Moreover, the relocation will be hopefully processed before 2024, as soon as the pandemic slows down!