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View all search resultsWildfires spread near new capital Nusantara
Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain haze in six provinces hit the hardest by forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra islands, which so far have reached 73,311 hectares.
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The Presidential Palace is seen before a ceremony marking Indonesia's 80th Independence Day at the Ceremonial Plaza in Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan on Aug. 17, 2025. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
W
ildfires have begun spreading near the planned new capital Nusantara, prompting project authorities to urge the disaster mitigation agency to carry out cloud-seeding and water-bombing operations, officials said.
Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain haze in six provinces hit the hardest by forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra islands, which so far have reached 73,311 hectares.
Wildfires have been raging in a number of spots in Kalimantan, but the eastern part, where the new capital is located, has been relatively safe in the weeks since the fires began to worsen with the onset of the dry season in July.
Now, however, fires have spread to some areas around the capital, prompting the request for action from the authority overseeing the project, said Agus Riyanto, director for emergency response at the disaster mitigation agency.
Disaster response and mitigation teams in Indonesia are facing the most challenging dry season in a decade, exacerbated by a "super El Nino" phenomenon.
The biggest of the fires in the new capital territory, Agus said, was at a forest park at Bukit Suharto, or Suharto Hill, named after the autocratic former president, where around 300 hectares have burned.
Bukit Suharto is around 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the city centre, which houses a number of major projects built over the last few years for the new capital.
