JAKARTA:
Indonesia will move its capital to the eastern edge of jungle-clad Borneo
island, President Joko Widodo said yesterday, as the country shifts its
political heart away from congested and sinking megalopolis Jakarta. The
proposed location - near the regional cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda - is
an area at "minimal" risk of natural disasters, where the government
already owns some 180,000 hectares of land, he added.

"The
location is very strategic - it's in the center of Indonesia and close to urban
areas," Widodo said in a televised speech. "The burden Jakarta is
holding right now is too heavy as the centre of governance, business, finance,
trade and services," he added. The announcement ends months of speculation
about whether Widodo would follow through on the long-mooted plan - it was
floated by the newly independent country's founding father Sukarno more than
half a century ago.

Shifting from
problem-plagued Jakarta would also transfer Indonesia's power base off Java
island, where about half of the sprawling archipelago's 260 million people
live. "Moving the capital off Java is a gesture that aims to solidify
unity," said Jakarta-based political risk analyst Kevin O'Rourke. "Jakarta
will continue to be a megacity - as a center for finance and commerce - for a
few more decades, but ultimately it is at severe risk to climate change,"
he added.

A bill for the
proposed move will now be presented to parliament, Widodo said. Building is set
to begin next year with the move of some 1.5 million civil servants slated to
begin by 2024, at a cost of 466 trillion rupiah ($33 billion), officials said.
Known as Kalimantan, Indonesia's section of Borneo - the island it shares with
Malaysia and Brunei - is home to major mining activities as well as
rainforests, and is one of the few places on Earth with orangutans in their
natural habitat.

Environmentalists
expressed concerns the capital city move could threaten endangered species.
"The government must make sure that the new capital is not built in a
conservation or protected area," said Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner
Jasmine Putri. The region has also been blanketed in choking haze from annual
forest fires that ravage vast swathes of land. "That makes Kalimantan
unfit as a candidate for a new capital city," said Jakarta-based urban
planning expert Nirwono Joga. "And the move won't necessarily free Jakarta
of problems like flooding, traffic jams and rapid urbanization," he added.

Concerns have
soared over the future of Jakarta - a city nicknamed "the Big Durian"
after the pungent, spiky fruit that deeply divides fans and detractors. Built
on swampland, the city is one of the fastest-sinking cities on earth, with
experts warning that one third of it could be submerged by 2050 if current
rates continue. The problem is largely linked to excessive groundwater
extraction.

But the city of
10 million - a number that bloats to about 30 million with surrounding
satellite cities - is also plagued by a host of other ills, from eye-watering
traffic jams and pollution to the risk of earthquakes and floods. Indonesia is
not the first Southeast Asian country to move its capital. Myanmar and Malaysia
have both moved their seat of government, while Brazil, Pakistan and Nigeria
are among the nations that have also shifted their capital cities. - AFP