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Indonesia is moving its capital away from a sinking city

Indonesia is moving its capital away from a sinking city

إندونيسيا تنقل عاصمتها بعيداً عن مدينة تغرق

Greater Jakarta holds more than 30 million people, and parts of the city are sinking several centimetres a year as groundwater is pumped out from underneath it. North Jakarta has dropped metres in a few decades.

The government's answer is Nusantara, a new capital rising in Borneo, planned for millions of residents by mid-century. Ministries have started relocating; sceptics note that Brazil built Brasília and Rio stayed enormous anyway.

Capitals can move. Thirty million people mostly cannot. Jakarta's demographic weight will outlast its political title.

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