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Nusantara as a smart, innovative and green city
The President envisions Nusantara as an innovation hub. It will be the focal point of improvements to the country’s economic development in health care, education and business.
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Brand new city: An image of one possible plan for the new capital city Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
(Courtesy of/Public Works and Public Housing Ministry)
I
t’s been a long time coming. The idea of a built-from-scratch capital dates to Sukarno in 1957 when he inaugurated Palangka Raya, now the capital of Central Kalimantan. The much-venerated founding father had envisioned a capital outside of Java in part as a development countermagnet.
Sixty-five years and two major regime changes later, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is finally preparing to deliver the vision of his inaugural office holder. On Tuesday this week, the House of Representatives approved the passage of Jokowi’s bill for the establishment of Nusantara, the future capital of Indonesia.
Home to more than 20 million, Greater Jakarta is one of the world’s oldest urban areas, struggling with the weight of exponential growth, worsening traffic congestion, bad air quality and annual flooding. It is also the fastest sinking population center in Southeast Asia.
Some argue that Jakarta’s environmental woes make it unfit to represent Indonesia’s bright future. The relocation of the capital to Nusantara will rebalance the growth, redistribute wealth and keep ecological footprints at sustainable levels.
Having consulted officials from Japan, the United Kingdom and Abu Dhabi, President Jokowi envisions Nusantara housing up to 7 million residents, featuring world-class amenities and some of the most innovative approaches to urbanism in Southeast Asia. Following the House’s approval, National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa said Nusantara would be a standard bearer, the identity of the nation, as well as a new economic growth pole.
Kalimantan is rich in minerals and natural resources, although deforestation due to palm oil plantations and timber operations have compromised the otherwise pristine rain forest. It is also home to exotic fauna such as orangutans, long-nosed monkeys, sun bears, rhinos and other endangered species.
A unique and strategic plan is needed to ensure creative city planning while considering the preservation of the existing culture as well. The government has already stated that its aim is to not disturb any of the natural forest or its living mechanisms but to rehabilitate it.
