Indonesia celebrated its independence on Wednesday August 17 for the first time in its future capital in Borneo, an island which is home to one of the largest tropical forests in the world, intended to replace the densely populated city of Jakarta.
Nusantara, 2000 km from Jakarta, is to become the new political capital of the Southeast Asian archipelago and the fourth largest country in the world.
The project, which was announced by President Joko Widodo in 2019, has drawn criticism from environmentalists who believe it could accelerate the destruction of tropical jungles.
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The government is preparing to step up efforts on infrastructure projects so that it can inaugurate the capital when Joko Widodo leaves office in 2024. The new capital will occupy more than 56,000 hectares in East Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
In total, more than 256,000 hectares have been set aside for project expansion.
"
The main purpose (of the ceremony) is to take the spirit of the 77th anniversary of independence, to strengthen our determination and our spirit for the construction of the new capital
", said the official of the Authority of the new capital city.
After the raising of the national flag in honor of independence, the workers present on the site proclaimed together that they were "
ready to develop Nusantara
", a name which means "
archipelago
" in Indonesian.
Jakarta, a giant conurbation of more than 30 million inhabitants lacks infrastructure, is affected by giant traffic jams, a high level of pollution and sees its coastal zone sinking below sea level causing frequent flooding.
The construction of the project, which was to start in 2020, has been slowed down by the pandemic.
It should be spread over several stages until 2045.