The relocation destination is the jungle !? What is the new capital "Nusantara"? March 22, 18:20
It has been a year since I was assigned to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
When I felt that I was very familiar with it, the Indonesian parliament decided to move the capital to another place.
Its name is "Nusantara".
What kind of place is it?
Why move the capital in the first place?
We interviewed the Indonesian staff who asked a little uneasy, "Are our bureaus moving to Nusantara?"
(Jakarta Bureau Chief, Rei Ito)
Jakarta, one of the largest cities in the world
Speaking of Indonesia, the resort area of Bali is more famous, and it may be hard to imagine what the capital city of Jakarta is like.
There are 33 megacities in the world called "mega cities" with a population of over 10 million, one of which is here in Jakarta (as of 2018, the largest population is the metropolitan area of Japan).
It is predicted that the population of the Japanese metropolitan area will be exceeded by 2030.
NHK's branch office is located in the business district in central Jakarta.
Right next to the high-rise building where the bureau is located, old-fashioned food stalls and simple houses with tin roofs are crowded, making Jakarta feel like it is in the middle of development.
Capital relocation is decided!
Its name is "Nusantara"
The idea of moving the capital from Jakarta has been raised since 2019.
At that time, many were skeptical even after President Joko announced his policy.
In fact, three successive presidents have proposed to relocate the capital, but the plan has not been materialized.
However, in January, a bill for relocation of the capital was passed by the parliament.
And on March 10th, a government agency to promote the development of the new capital was launched, and it has become more realistic than ever.
The name of the new capital announced is "Nusantara".
It means "Archipelago" which symbolizes Indonesia, the world's largest island country formed by about 17,000 islands.
"Nusantara" is the eastern part of Kalimantan Island, about 2000 km from Jakarta.
It is located almost in the center of Indonesia.
Also known as "Borneo", the northwestern part of the island is the territory of Malaysia and Brunei, where three countries coexist.
Here, the Indonesian government is trying to open up about 250,000 hectares of land such as forests, which is almost the same as the area of Kanagawa prefecture, and build a new capital from scratch.
The move will begin in 2024 and will be completed by 2045.
Why move the capital in the first place?
That is because I want to solve the problems that Jakarta is having now.
1 "
Unipolar concentration in Java" Japan is said to be "unipolar in Tokyo", but in the case of Indonesia, the problem is the concentration on Java, where Jakarta is located.
Although Java is only about 6% of the country, it is home to about 150 million people, more than half of the total population.
Especially in the Jakarta metropolitan area, where about 30 million people live, traffic congestion and air pollution have become serious problems.
Traffic congestion was said to be the "worst level in the world" before the spread of the new coronavirus, and the Indonesian language I learned immediately after I was assigned was "machete".
The subway opened for the first time in 2019, and transportation has increased, but when you drive to your destination, you have twice as much time as it should take.
Economic activity is also concentrated in Java, and the income gap with other regions is widening.
Development outside Java is needed to achieve greater economic growth than ever before.
2 Sinking Jakarta
The risk of disaster is also increasing in Jakarta.
One of them is the risk of flooding due to land subsidence.
According to experts who have been studying land subsidence in Jakarta for more than 20 years, there are areas where the ground is originally soft, and the land below 0 meters above sea level due to the inhabitants pumping up too much groundwater is in Jakarta. It is said to be about 20%.
Bandung Institute of Technology Heli Andreas, who studies land subsidence,
"If land subsidence continues, we predict that by 2050, about 40% of Jakarta's total area will be below sea level. Without embankments, the area would be It means that it will be submerged. "
3 Risk
of a large earthquake Java Island, where Jakarta is located, is near a large fault zone that is said to cause a large earthquake.
After the policy of relocation of the capital was decided, the Indonesian meteorological authorities will analyze the risk of the earthquake and tsunami at the relocation destination and strengthen the equipment to detect the earthquake.
We are proceeding with discussions on disaster prevention measures in collaboration with related ministries and agencies.
When asked by a meteorological expert about the risk of the relocation destination, he said, "Although 100% earthquakes are not possible, there is a distance from a large fault zone, and the risk of earthquakes and tsunamis is relatively low compared to Jakarta. It means that.
I went to "Nusantara"
A week after Congress decided to relocate the capital, we headed to Nusantara.
First, about 2 hours by plane from Jakarta to Balikpapan on Kalimantan Island.
From Balikpapan, I got in a car and took about 3 hours to reach Nusantara.
When you arrive at what the Indonesian government calls "Zero Point", which will be the center of the new capital, you will see forests and birdsong as far as you can see.
It's a little different from the image of "jungle" that I heard from Indonesian staff in advance, but it's a forest in the mountains.
President Joko has declared that he wants to hold the 2024 Independence Day ceremony in the new capital, Cheong Wa Dae.
Even the planned construction site of Cheong Wa Dae is still in the untouched forest.
But elsewhere, trees were cut down and roads and dams had already begun to be built.
In the surrounding area, the movement of private people to buy land for investment and development of residential areas is increasing rapidly.
It seems that the price of land has already risen 10 times compared to before.
Local man (29 years old)
"I welcome the new capital, as it will raise the bar for life, education and medical care here. Until now, I've been outside the island to give my brother and sister a good education. I was sending it out. "
What are the hurdles to realization?
Is it possible to relocate the capital?
First of all, how to raise the huge cost of relocation.
Last November, President Joko said that he needed about 4 trillion yen in Japanese yen, which has been swelling since the beginning.
Eighty percent of the cost is a public-private partnership, and we want to cover it by attracting investment from private companies and foreign countries.
In fact, in 2020, President Joko himself met with President Masayoshi Son of the SoftBank Group and asked for his cooperation.
However, this month, when I inquired about the progress after that to the SoftBank Group, I received a comment saying, "We have forgotten to invest in this project."
With the new Corona and the situation in Ukraine severely damaging the global economy, it is uncertain whether investment will continue to grow as expected.
According to a private survey, about 60% oppose the relocation of the capital, saying that it is a waste of money, and there are also signing activities against it.
There are also concerns that deforestation may threaten the habitat of rare animals such as orangutans.
The government says it will protect orangutans and their habitat, but does not provide a specific method.
And President Joko's term is until 2024.
There is no guarantee that the next elected president will take over the plan to relocate the capital, and the plan may even be shaken from the ground up.
Mr. Nirwono Joga, University of Trisacti, who is familiar with city planning
"President Joko should concentrate on corona response until the end of his term. Do it, and you can take it over to your successor, which is safer than being canceled as a result. "
How do you see "capital relocation" from Japan?
Indonesia is a full-scale "capital relocation", but in Japan, there was a debate about relocating the "capital function" of the Diet and central ministries.
In the midst of rapid economic development in Tokyo, problems such as traffic congestion, housing shortages, and pollution caused by population concentration have become more serious since the 1960s, and land prices have skyrocketed during the bubble era.
Since 1990, the government's council has even selected candidate sites for relocation, but in the end, no conclusion was reached, and discussions became sluggish in the 2000s.
Meanwhile, experts familiar with the issue of global capital relocation are focusing on one of the reasons Indonesia decided to relocate its capital, "reducing disaster risk."
One of the reasons why the relocation of capital function was discussed in Japan was that there was concern that the government would malfunction in the event of a large-scale disaster in Tokyo.
Immediately after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, there was a renewed voice that the capital functions needed to be dispersed.
Hirofumi Yamaguchi, Specially Appointed Professor, Rissho University
"Japan, a disaster-prone country, is at risk of an earthquake directly beneath the capital. It is worth noting how the Indonesian government will develop disaster prevention measures in the new capital and Jakarta in the future. May also have a chance to cooperate. "
Entering a developed country at the same time as the new capital?
2045, which aims to complete the relocation of the capital, coincides with the time when Indonesia aims to join the ranks of developed countries.
The blueprint of the new capital drawn by the government is a cool city that utilizes ICT = information and communication technology in consideration of the environment, such as being surrounded by forests and using 100% renewable energy.
On the other hand, the reality that we have to face in order to realize this dream city feels like a test to enter Indonesia as a developed country.
Will the day come when I miss the completed "Nusantara" and cover the untouched forest in the future?
I would like to continue to cover the whereabouts of this huge project.
Jakarta bureau chief
Rei Ito
Joined in 2015
After working at the Morioka bureau and the International Department, interviewed Indonesia and East Timor at the Jakarta bureau from last year.