Indonesia President Joko Widodo — a.k.a Jokowi — announced on Aug. 26, 2019 the plans to move the country's capital to East Kalimantan.

According to The Jakarta Post, the decision comes after his government had conducted in-depth studies in the past three years on where a new capital should be built.

It's a move that has been in the works for quite a while.

Jokowi initially proposed the idea during his state-of-the-nation speech in parliament in April 2019, reported Reuters.

The BBC reported that plans to move the capital away from Jakarta have also been periodically pitched by past presidents before, though none have been able to accomplish it.

However, with Jokowi's penchant for mass infrastructure projects and development, he could just be the president to pull it off.

Where?

According to Nikkei Asia Review, the new capital will be near two districts: Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kartanegara in East Kalimantan province.

It was chosen from among the three sites that the government had previously been considering, all located near Balikpapan and Samarinda, the province's two largest cities and a two-hour flight from Jakarta.

As the site is located in a forested area owned by the government, there won't any of the difficulties associated with acquiring privately owned land.

Nikkei describes Balikpapan as Kalimantan's economic centre — housing oil refiners and a port. 

Samarinda is the provincial capital.

The cities are already relatively developed in terms of infrastructure, boasting an international airport and can be connected to the rest of the island with the construction of highways and railways.

Jokowi has also said that he wants the new capital to be a green and smart city.

This will be facilitated by equipping it with the latest information and communications technology.

There are also plans to keep the city compact so as to minimise the impact on the surrounding tropical rain forests.

When?

In his announcement, Jokowi noted that he had already sent a letter to the House of Representatives about the decision, reported The Jakarta Post.

The government would also prepare a bill regarding the capital relocation for the House's approval as soon as possible.

If approved, Nikkei reported that the government plans to draw up development plans by 2021 and begin the move in 2024.

The move will see many government agencies relocated to the new capital.

However, the central bank and other economic agencies are set to stay in Jakarta, allowing the city to maintain its status as Indonesia's economic centre.

According to Bloomberg, the government has said that the move will cost about 466 trillion rupiah (S$45 billion).

Why?

There are a whole range of reasons why Jokowi believes that moving the capital is necessary.

Overpopulation and congestion

Chief amongst them is the fact that Jakarta is — as Bloomberg puts it — "bursting at the seams".

The city's 10 million inhabitants have to deal with severe traffic congestion on a daily basis.

Bloomberg reported that this costs an estimated 100 trillion rupiah (S$9.7 billion) a year in lost productivity for the greater Jakarta area, named Jabodetabek, which houses 30 million people.

Sinking

If that wasn't enough, Jakarta is also sinking.

According to the BBC, North Jakarta has sunk 2.5m in the past 10 years.

It continues to sink every year, with various areas experiencing changes of 1 to 15cm annually.

One of the main causes of the sinking is the extraction of groundwater used for drinking and bathing.

When coupled with rising sea levels from climate change, it makes Jakarta the fastest sinking city in the world.

Researchers believe that by 2050, 95 percent of North Jakarta could be submerged.

Economic inequality

Another reason that has compelled Jokowi in the search for new pastures is the prospect of reducing inequality throughout the Indonesian archipelago, reports Nikkei.

That's why Kalimantan has been chosen, as it's location east of Jakarta would represent a move away from a Java-centric approach to economic activity.

According to Asian Correspondent, statistics from 2018 showed that the island of Java alone contributed to 8.48 per cent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP).

This is in contrast to the eastern part of Indonesia — which includes Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua — which only contributed 16.8 per cent of GDP despite covering 64 per cent of the nation’s total area.

It is thought that moving the capital eastwards, would help to close the developmental gap between Java and the other islands.

Complaints?

However, not everyone is sold on the idea of moving Indonesia's capital.

Writing for Today, Johannes Nugroho argues that other examples of capital relocation in South East Asia have not been effective.

He gives the example of Malaysia and Myanmar.

Malaysia had moved its capital from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya in an attempt to ease overcrowding and congestion.

Yet, Putrajaya is just 33.7 km away from Kuala Lumpur, and neither the head of state nor parliament have moved from the former capital.

Myanmar, on the other hand, relocated its capital from Yangon to the newly built city of Naypyidaw — 320 km away from the original location.

But since the move in 2006, Nugroho posits that the new capital has struggled to attract people and businesses.

Rendy Diningrat, a researcher writing for Asian Correspondent, opined that shifting the capital alone would not help alleviate economic inequalities.

This is because government activities only account for about 10 percent of economic activity in Jakarta.

With Jakarta still set to serve as Indonesia's economic centre, Diningrat believes that a new capital in Kalimantan would not be effective as a new growth centre.

Top image screenshot from Kompas and Google Maps