Indonesia moves capital from Jakarta to Borneo

Tags: International News

Recently, the Indonesian government unveiled the site of the country's new capital.

An overview of the news

• The new capital, Nusantara, is located in the East Kalimantan province of Borneo, Indonesia.

• The new capital city of the country will be called Nusantara.

• The new capital will be asustainable forest city which will be developed keeping in mind the environment and will aim to achieve zero carbon emissions by the year 2045.

Why is Indonesia moving its capital?

• Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, has a population of about 10 million and three times the population of the greater metropolitan area.

• It has been described as the world's fastest-sinking city and at the current rate it is estimated that a third of the city could be submerged by 2050.

• The main reason for this is uncontrolled groundwater extraction, but the rising Java Sea due to climate change has increased this possibility.

• Its air and groundwater are highly polluted, it floods regularly and its streets are so congested that its estimated congestion costs the economy $4.5 billion a year.

• In view of all these problems, President Joko Widodo has envisioned the construction of a new capital, so that the country can have a "sustainable city".

About Indonesia

• It was earlier known as Dutch East Indies (Netherland East Indies) and it became Independent from the Netherlands on 17 August 1945.

• It is the world's largest archipelago consisting of 17,500 islands.

• Borneo island of Indonesia is the third largest island in the world after Greenland and New Guinea.

• There are more than 100 active volcanoes in the country and the most famous being Krakatoa and Mount Merapi.

• It has the world’s largest muslim population .

• Capital : Jakarta

• Currency : Rupiah

• President : Joko Widodo