Indonesia Is Moving Its Capital to Borneo Because Jakarta Is Sinking

According to The Guardian, the new capital city will be built in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo (Borneo is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei). If the bill to change the location of the central government is approved by the House of Representatives, construction will start as soon as 2020 and the move will begin in 2024.

The news is drawing environmental concerns for Borneo. The world’s third-largest island is home to a rainforest damaged by the mining and agricultural industries, and local wildlife such as the proboscis monkey and Borneo orangutan are already endangered. But the Indonesian government reassures that the new capital will be built near existing urban centers and not disturb “any existing protected forest,” reported the South China Morning Post. “Instead we will rehabilitate it,” Bambang Brodjonegoro, Indonesia’s minister of national development planning, said.

This article was updated on August 28, 2019.