Jakarta (AFP)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced on Monday that a site in eastern Borneo has been chosen to eventually move the country's political capital out of Jakarta, a megalopolis congested and threatened by rising water levels.

The site was initially chosen "because it presents a low risk of natural disaster", flood, earthquake, tsunami or volcanic eruption, said the president, while a large part of the territory of Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The new site in the eastern province of Kalimantan (Indonesian part of Borneo) was chosen "second because its location is strategic, it is central Indonesia," he noted.

The proposed site between the towns of Balikpapan and Samarinda is located in a rainforest area with high biodiversity. The future capital has not yet been officially baptized.

"Jakarta's current burden is too heavy as a political, economic and financial center, as well as for trade and services," said the Indonesian president.

And "since being independent, Indonesia has never chosen its capital," he said.

The government will draft a law that will be proposed to Parliament to take the change of capital, said the president who estimated at some $ 32 billion the cost of the operation.

After a preparatory phase in 2020, the move of government institutions is expected to begin in 2024, said planning minister Bambang Brodjonegoro.

This announcement comes as concerns are growing over the future of Jakarta.

The megalopolis, which developed on the site of the former capital Batavia established by the Dutch colonists nearly 500 years ago, sees part of its territory sinking underwater.

At the current rate, one third of the city could be under the sea by 2050, according to environmental experts. The capital is weakened by poor urban planning and the fact that a large part of the population does not have a water supply network and draws on groundwater, which leads to the collapse of entire neighborhoods.

In response to these evils, coupled with massive traffic jams, pollution and seismic hazards, the government announced in May that it will decide this year on the location of a new political capital.

Jakarta has some 10 million inhabitants and its conurbation 30 million.

© 2019 AFP