One nation’s solution to overcrowding: Carve a new capital out of the jungle



Indonesia is carving a new capital city — called Nusantara — out of the tropical rainforest to escape the urban issues of Jakarta, including extreme traffic, pollution and flooding.

By Stephanie Yang and Dera Menra Sijabat
Photography by Kaleb Sitompul
Aug. 16, 2024 2 AM PM

NUSANTARA, Indonesia — Like many of the world’s megacities, Jakarta has mega-problems. Two-hour commutes are a way of life. Air pollution is a serious health hazard. Drinking water is running out. On top of all that, the longtime Indonesian capital — population 11 million, plus twice that many in the ever-expanding suburbs — is sinking.

And so in 2019, the country’s president announced a bold plan to carve a new capital out of the rainforest 800 miles away across the Java Sea. He named the city Nusantara — or “archipelago” — for the 17,508 islands that make up the world’s fourth-most populous nation.

In his vision, the $32-billion city would begin life as the new seat of government, and over the next two decades attract millions of people as a high-tech, zero-carbon metropolis that would relieve crowding in Jakarta and serve as a model of urban innovation for the rest of the world.

For the record:

9:31 a.m. Aug. 16, 2024An earlier version of this article reported that Nusantara would replace Jakarta as the capital of Indonesia on Saturday. The government has not set an official date for the transition.