Indonesian Minister of Urban Planning Bambang Brodjonegoro has said that the government will decide the site of its new capital this year with the aim of it being ready by 2024.

A corner of Jakarta (Source: Asialink)

Brodjonegoro said the government is finalising studies so it can decide this year and start the groundbreaking project by 2020 or 2021, and hopes that the new capital will be ready to be the new government centre by 2024.

The decision to move the capital from megacity Jakarta came about two weeks ago after President Joko Widodo approved the long-mooted plan.

Earlier this month, President Widodo visited East and Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo to scout for a new capital location. After relocation, Jakarta will remain the nation’s financial hub.

Jakarta alone has 9.6 million people, but together with its surrounding satellite cities, the Jakarta region has a population of about 30 million people and is regularly rated as one of the most traffic-congested centres in the world, costing the country over 7 billion USD each year. The low-lying Jakarta capital is also prone to flooding.

(Source: VNA)