BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua)-Indonesian President Joko announced on the 26th that the Indonesian government will start the capital relocation plan. The new capital will be located in East Kalimantan province of Borneo, and the construction of the new capital will cost 466 trillion rupiah. The Indonesian government hopes to start the capital relocation in stages in 2024.
Jakarta, the current capital of Indonesia, is located in the northwest corner of densely populated Java Island. Because the population density is too high, the traffic is extremely congested, the air pollution is serious, and the city is facing the threat of sinking and being submerged by sea level, it is regarded as unsuitable as the capital.
[Location of New Capital: Resources, Security and Strategy]
Indonesian officials hinted earlier that the new capital is located in Palang Callaya, Central Kalimantan Province, but the plan has changed.
In a televised speech, Zoco said that the specific location of the new capital is between Penang Basel in North China and Kukata Negara, and between samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan Province, and Balikpapan, the port city of the province.
He said that East Kalimantan is close to the developing metropolitan area, and the risk of natural disasters is extremely low. There are about 180,000 hectares of land owned by the state. "This is a strategic location in the geographical center of Indonesia, close to the expanding urban areas."
As for the source of funds for moving the capital, Zoco said that the government will provide 19% of the funds, and the rest will come from public-private partnership projects and private investment.
The idea of moving the capital was put forward by Indonesia’s Ministry of National Development Planning in April. After actual exploration and evaluation, three recommended areas are given, namely the eastern, central and southern Kalimantan provinces of Borneo Island. In addition to the terrain and infrastructure, the main recommended reasons are that there are few earthquakes and volcanic threats on the island.
The Indonesian government hopes that the Parliament will complete the relevant legislation in 2020. If all goes well, the construction of the new capital will begin in 2021, and it is expected that the capital will be moved in 2024.
Borneo is famous for its dense rainforest and biodiversity, with a population of only 16 million. It is the habitat of endangered species such as scarlet, Malay bear and proboscis monkey. Environmental groups are worried that the construction of a new capital there will destroy the ecological environment.
[Jakarta’s population is too dense, and the sinking problem is urgent]
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is located in Java, with a population of about 30 million, with an average population of more than 15,000 people per square kilometer. In recent years, it faces the problems of traffic congestion, serious pollution and coastline retreat caused by excessive pumping of groundwater. Two fifths of the city is below sea level, and some areas are sinking at the rate of 20 cm per year.
In order to prevent Jakarta’s environment from deteriorating and to balance domestic development, Zoco decided to start the capital relocation plan.
He said that the pressure of population and economic development faced by Jakarta and its Java Island has exceeded the load. Moving the capital is also conducive to spreading economic activities outside Java and alleviating the gap between the rich and the poor in the region. "The political center should be separated from the economic center (Jakarta). I don’t want all the money to be concentrated in Java, but also spread outside Java. "
Zoko positioned the new capital as a new status symbol and a symbol of development and progress in Indonesia. The capital relocation project is complicated and huge, and it will become a high-profile part of Zoco’s second five-year term. The authorities have indicated that they want to create a modern, intelligent and environmentally friendly city.
As for Jakarta, whose capital status is uncertain, Joko said that it will continue to be the center of Indonesia’s commerce and service industry, and the government is also preparing to allocate 57.1 billion rupiah for Jakarta’s urban development. The plan has now entered the final stage.
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