Indonesia’s parliament approves capital relocation bill
Indonesia's parliament has approved a bill to relocate the nation's capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on Borneo, House Speaker Puan Maharani said on January 18.
Indonesia's parliament approves a bill to relocate the nation's capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on Borneo. (Photo: Nikkei)The new capital law, which provides a legal framework for President Joko Widodo's proposal, stipulates how development of the capital will be funded and governed.
The new capital will be called "Nusantara", or archipelago in English, chosen by the president.
President Widodo first announced the plan to relocate the capital from Java, the country’s most populated island, in April 2019.
Months later, Widodo announced two districts in East Kalimantan province, which are North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kertanegara, to be the site of the new capital city.
With an area of about 127,000 sq.km, East Kalimantan is home to more than 3.7 million people.
The ground-breaking of the multibillion-dollar construction project was initially expected to be conducted in August 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the government to put it on hold.
The new capital will serve as the centre of government, while Jakarta the current capital city which is home to more than 10 million people, would remain the business and economic centre of Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy./.
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