A city worthy of Avatar | The Press

Named Nusantara, the new Indonesian capital promises to be a modern, eco-friendly, intelligent “forest city”. The fantasy of many urban planners…

You don’t get from hell to heaven easily. But with a lot of money and serious political will, anything is possible. Talk to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is preparing to inaugurate a new capital, Nusantara, built in the middle of the jungle, 2000 kilometers from the current capital.

An ambitious project, certainly, but apparently justified.

With its 10 million inhabitants, Jakarta has become overpopulated and overpolluted. Its geographical position makes the city particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. Not to mention that it continues to sink, due to rising water levels and the uncontrolled pumping of its groundwater. It is estimated that by 2025, a third of the city will be submerged.

In addition to these structural and environmental issues, there are economic issues. By moving the administrative center to the more geographically central island of Borneo, the government wishes to promote a better redistribution of wealth, currently mainly concentrated in the island of Java, where Jakarta is located.

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Announced in 2019, the new capital is scheduled to be inaugurated on August 17, Indonesia’s National Day. This will probably be the most important legacy of Joko Widodo, who is preparing to leave his place to his successor Prabowo Subianto, after 10 years in power.

The city, still under construction, plans to welcome its first 10,000 civil servants in September, then 1.9 million people in the longer term.

A spectacular move for a project that is just as spectacular.

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Judging by the marketing campaigns that accompany this project, Nusantara will be more than just a capital. Enthusiastic about his “baby”, Joko Widodo speaks instead of a “new state of mind” from Indonesia, focused on the future and the planet.

On paper, Nusantara indeed has all the attributes of a futuristic paradise, capable of making architects, urban planners and even the slightest ecologists fantasize.

Built in the region of East Kalimantan, in the Indonesian part of Borneo, on a territory of 2,500 kilometers which must leave ample room for nature, Nusantara presents itself as an “intelligent forest city”, designed with a global ecological perspective.

With the promise of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, the new capital plans to depend 100% on renewable energies, operate 80% by means of public transport (with high sidewalks supposed to facilitate circulation) and reserve a minimum of 65% of its territory with green spaces.

We are also talking about 60% recycled waste and an underground network to eliminate the rest of the garbage. Not to mention the administrative buildings, which will embrace Indonesian tradition and mythology, while respecting the surrounding jungle.

“With Nusantara, we will set new standards by which to live,” summarized Bambang Susantono, chairman of the new National Capital Authority, echoing President Jojo Widodo’s speech.

The gradual birth of this project must be spread over five phases. The city is scheduled to be officially “completed” in 2045, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Indonesia. But this ambitious project, whose cost is estimated at 35 billion US dollars, is perhaps too good to be true.

Behind its inspiring green curtain, this city straight out of the film Avatar is far from unanimous.