Indonesia names new capital, approving transfer from Jakarta

Indonesia’s legislature on Tuesday passed a bill that creates the legal framework for moving the country’s capital from Jakarta — a sinking, congested, polluted and flood-prone megacity with more than 10 million residents — to the jungles of Kalimantan, on Indonesia’s portion of the island of Borneo, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away.

 

He said the capital “will not only have government offices, we want to build a new smart metropolis that can be a magnet for global talent and a center of innovation.” This ambition was echoed by a government statement claiming that the new capital will put Indonesia “in a more strategic position in world trade routes, investment flows and technological innovation.”

 

The government hopes that the new capital of Indonesia — Southeast Asia’s most populous country and largest economy, and home to the world’s largest Muslim population — will become a low-carbon pharmaceutical, health and technology “super hub.” The new capital is set to occupy about 56,180 hectares (216 square miles) in East Kalimantan province on the Indonesian section of Borneo — an island that it shares with Malaysia and Brunei.