Jakarta, Aug. 27 (IANS): Construction of Indonesia's new capital on the island of Borneo will commence in 2020, the country's Minister for Housing and Public Work said on Tuesday.
The statement came a day after Indonesian President Joko Widodo unveiled the new capital's location which is partly in the district of Penajam Paser Utara and partly in the districts of Kutai Kertanegara of the East Kalimantan province.
The site is near the coastal cities Samarinda and Balikpapan, which are important for coal and oil shipment.
Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the building of the new city would be undertaken within three stages.
"For basic facilities, such as roads, clean water installation and sanitation, they will be designed this year, and in 2020, we will start constructing them," said Hadimuljono, according to Xinhua news agency.
According to the Minister, a total of 180,000 hectares of land has been provided, 40,000 hectares of which is for government office buildings.
The Minister added that the shifting of the country's capital from the climate-threatened megalopolis of Jakarta to the sparsely populated island of Borneo will kick off in 2024, media reports said.
The current capital, Jakarta, home to more than 10 million people, sits on swampy land and parts of the city are sinking by as much as 25 cm a year and almost half now sits below sea level.
