{"id":156973,"date":"2023-09-18T15:10:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T13:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=156973"},"modified":"2023-09-19T11:30:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T09:30:44","slug":"nusantara-administrative-capital-indonesia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/nusantara-administrative-capital-indonesia","title":{"rendered":"Nusantara: Indonesia's new centre of power"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new administrative capital in Egypt to replace Cairo, the new town of Diamniadio to relieve traffic congestion in Dakar, Senegal: all over the world, the trend is to duplicate the existing infrastructure. breathing fresh air into overcrowded metropolises<\/strong>. Indonesia is no exception. Jakarta<\/a>Overcrowded, over-polluted and regularly submerged by floods, the city is becoming less and less liveable for its 30 million inhabitants. Worse still, built on marshland, the capital is sinking below sea level as a result of the over-exploitation of groundwater, due to excessive and often illegal pumping. A situation that climate change is only set to accelerate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As a result, in early 2022, Indonesian President Joko Widodo signed the relocation of the administrative capital<\/strong> of the country. And not just a few dozen kilometres from the old one, as Malaysia had done with Petrajaya, near Kuala Lumpur, but on another island, Borneo, more than 1,500 kilometres away. Farewell to Java: the presidential palace, parliament and ministries are preparing to leave for the province of East Kalimantan<\/strong>in the city of Nusantara, which is still under construction. Nusantara, or \"archipelago\" in ancient Javanese, symbolises the establishment of political power at the centre of this nation of 17,000 islands, rather than in its western part.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Urban+ Institute, the urban planning consultancy responsible for the Nusantara urban development project, has designed Plaza Seremoni, with the new presidential palace towering over it in the distance. <\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Known by the diminutive name of IKN - for Ibu Kota Negara, \"the national capital\" in Indonesian - the future metropolis will be located between two major towns, Balikpapan and Samarinda<\/strong>both of which have airports. New roads, regional trains: a large number of infrastructures will link \"IKN\" to these two major centres. Estimated at over 30 billion euros, the project should culminate in the inauguration of the new presidential palace on a key date: 17 August 2024. This is the date of independence in 1945 for a country which, since the first presidency of Soekarno, had been thinking about finding a new home for its capital, inherited from Dutch colonisation. Brazil was going to do it with Brasilia. Indonesia was also considering it, already in Borneo, with the Palangka Raya new town project, without Jakarta seeing itself dethroned by the weight of its economy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Business in Jakarta, political power in Nusantara<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Will the Indonesian President's wishes be fulfilled when, before the end of his second term in office, he unveils his new palace, the shape of which is reminiscent of the garuda<\/a>the country's mythical bird? In any case, the bulldozers have been busy clearing the area. Critics may argue that the deforestation<\/strong> of this natural area. The authorities, for their part, are emphasising their desire to create a green city, leaving plenty of room for nature. A future metropolis converted to renewable energies and soft mobility, where residents will be able to travel by bicycle or public transport, far from the Dantesque traffic jams of Jakarta.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n