INDONESIA
Spreading the Wealth
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Monday that the country’s capital will move from the island of Java to Borneo – which until now was known primarily for its orangutans.
The country had announced in April that it would move the capital from the present Jakarta, a megalopolis with a population of 30 million people across the greater metropolitan area, due to a host of problems, the Associated Press reported. The most serious one, perhaps, is the fact that the city is rapidly sinking as its residents draw out the groundwater beneath it – even though it’s already highly contaminated.
Widodo said the country chose the eastern side of Borneo after a three-year study. The unnamed new capital city will benefit from relatively complete infrastructure because it will be located near the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda.
More importantly, it will spread Indonesia’s wealth and people out from the island of Java, where more than half the country’s population currently resides.
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