Indonesia’s Capital Will Move From Jakarta To East Kalimantan Because Of Sinking Issue

Indonesia President Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, has just announced that Indonesia’s capital will move from Jakarta to East Kalimantan.

Apparently, this has been in the works for a few years now and the government has finally decided on a suitable place to call their country’s next capital after much research.

BBC reported that the decision to move Indonesia’s capital was a familiar one because previous presidents had also mentioned it, though none of them was able to finish it.

However, Jokowi might just be the president to put an end to all those empty promises.

Known for his love for mass infrastructure projects, Indonesians can count on him to set things right.

Not that he has any choice, actually.

Why?

Jakarta is sinking. And I don’t mean figuratively. Jakarta is literally sinking.

Due to climate change (yes, the buzz word of the year), Jakarta is sinking between one and fifteen centimetres every year.

The past 10 years have not been kind to the capital of Indonesia, and it was calculated that Jakarta has sunk by 2.5 metres.

By 2025, 95% of North Jakarta is expected to be gone.

And it’s not just climate change: Extracting groundwater from the land for drinking and bathing also contributed to the sinkage.

Other Problems

Putting aside the sinking issue, the city is also facing the problem of overpopulation.

10 million people are squeezed together in the city and they deal with major traffic jams every single day.

Their traffic jam can last two to three hours easily, by the way.

Another problem is economic inequality.

Java alone contributed about 8.48 per cent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Meanwhile, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, despite having the land area amounting to 64% of the total land area of Indonesia, only contributed 16.8%.

With this move, President Jokowi hopes to reduce the economic inequality issue in Indonesia.

Where?

The capital is set to be near two districts, Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kartanegara in East Kalimantan province.

Also, the site is located near Balikpapan and Samarinda, the province’s two largest cities.

There will not be any issues with acquiring any privately owned land since the land is already owned by the government.

Balikpapan is seen to be Kalimantan’s financial hub with their oil refiners and a port, whereas Samarinda is the provincial capital.

Both cities have a good transport network with highways and railways and have developed infrastructure.

They also have an international airport, allowing for easy access to other parts of the world.

East Kalimantan will be a clean and green city, said President Jowoki.

Perhaps just like Singapore?

This will be done by using the most advanced technology and the most up-to-date information to plan.

In an attempt to reduce impacts on the surrounding tropical rainforests, they will also try to make the city compact.

When?

It won’t be soon.

According to reports, the government needs to get approval from the House. They’ll get around to urban planning by 2021 and start the engines by 2024.

And not everyone will be moving.

The central bank and other economic companies will be left behind in Jakarta.

Unhappiness

Not everyone is happy with the move.

A writer for Today, Johannes Nugroho, said that relocating will not bring about many benefits. Citations were given, namely Malaysia and Myanmar.

But then again, Jakarta is sinking. So whether it’ll help or not, moving seems like a given.

While it is true that the previous attempts weren’t really successful, there might be differences in the results given the differences in growth and the GDP.

Who knows?

Maybe it will work out fine for Indonesia after all. Only time will tell.