the new capital contests ravages the fort of Borno

The decongestion of a capital which is sinking

The megalopolis of Jakarta, located on the island of Java, concentrates 56% of the Indonesian population. With a population of more than 10 million, it is one of the most polluted and congested capitals in the world. In addition to the demographic and economic imbalance, climate vulnerability is one of the reasons for the displacement project.

Indeed, the current capital is experiencing land subsidence accelerated by the exploitation of groundwater. A phenomenon, which coupled with the rainy season, a failing sewer network and rising ocean waters, causes recurrent floods.

According to Heri Andreas, a researcher at the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology at the Bandung Institute of Technology, the wall built along the coast to protect certain neighborhoods is not enough and the deployment of a sea wall will not allow to contain long-term flooding. He recommends cleaning up Jakarta's waterways to slow down the extraction of groundwater and the sinking of the city.

The city, 40% of which is already below sea level, threatens to be submerged within a few decades. Each year, it sinks up to ten centimeters, or even forty in certain areas. The disaster scenario, initially estimated for 2050, saw its chance advance to 2030, according to a Greenpeace report in 2021.

The illusory promise of a green capital

The move of the capital aims to make Nusantara an alternative model to the Javanese capital. Four times larger, Nusantara intends to position itself as the first smart forest city in the world, combining high technology and ecology, with 75% of its space dedicated to green infrastructure and optimized energy management using advanced technologies. The objective: to become a futuristic, carbon-neutral city, powered by renewable energies.

Far from reality, the promises of Nusantara seem very thin in the face of the ecological and human damage already observed. The first phase of this project was inaugurated in August 2024 from a presidential palace whose architecture evokes the bird-man Garuda, the national emblem.

NGOs and environmental experts denounce double-talk on the part of the Indonesian government which is selling a green city project by destroying all biodiversity. Hundreds of thousands of trees have already been cut down to make way for the infrastructure necessary for the establishment of the city. Currently, vast cleared plains are home to the construction site of a new port and an airport reserved for the government.

This massive deforestation destroys essential natural habitats for endangered species, including orangutans. This symbol of Borno has already seen its population halved in a century in this area.

Indigenous peoples are also impacted. Originally populated by several of these communities, eastern Borno first fell into the hands of industrialists in the 1990s, transforming the land into a monoculture of oil palms, thus driving out the original peoples.

On the front lines of this disaster, these communities are now facing the construction site which is destroying their agricultural land. In addition to seeing their land transform and deteriorate, they are threatened with forced displacement and denounce brutal expropriation without prior consultation. Lacking any official property title, it is impossible for them to receive financial compensation.

A huge short-financing project

Estimated to cost more than $32 billion, the project also attracts criticism for its colossal cost. In a country where many regions still lack basic infrastructure, such as access to drinking water and electricity, public funds could be used to solve the country's pressing problems, such as the fight against poverty, the improvement of health services or even education.

Despite its first inauguration, this ghost town only houses construction sites far from finished, which are falling behind schedule. Financial reasons are the origin, since only 20% of the work depends on public funds. Requiring compensation by private funds, foreign investors are nevertheless missing the call. For Jilal Mardhani, author of the self-critical book on urban planning: a capital for whom? , the hesitation of businesses can be explained by the lack of perspective.

Despite the criticism, the Indonesian government still intends to carry out the construction of the new capital. The decree formalizing Nusantara as the capital of Indonesia and recording the transfer of the seat of power has not yet been adopted. The signing could be left to the president's successor, Prabowo Subianto, who will take office in October.

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