It is being built in East Kalimantan to relieve a sinking, overcrowded capital on Java (2022)
Jakarta subsides by up to 25 cm a year in places and holds over 10 million people
Geography · Cities
Nusantara
construction began 2022; designated Indonesia's future capital by law in 2022
Indonesia's purpose-built new capital in East Kalimantan, on Borneo — still under construction
A capital city being built from scratch in East Kalimantan, on the Indonesian part of Borneo, intended to take over from Jakarta, which is overcrowded and sinking. A law of 2022 made it the designated capital and construction began that year, but the handover depends on a presidential decree that has not been issued: as of 2026 Jakarta remains the legal capital, and the target is now 2028.
How to spot them
- ▸A capital city under construction on Borneo, meant to relieve a sinking megacity on Java
- ▸Quiz clue: 'East Kalimantan', 'Balikpapan', 'Penajam North Paser', 'IKN', 'Joko Widodo'
- ▸Its name is an old Javanese word for the whole archipelago
- ▸Beware: the move is not complete, and Jakarta is still Indonesia's capital in law
Key facts
Its name is a classical Javanese term for the whole Indonesian archipelago, taken from the Majapahit era
Roughly 'outer islands' or 'archipelago'
President Joko Widodo announced the relocation in 2019 and pushed the enabling law through in January 2022 (2022)
Law No. 3 of 2022 on the State Capital
Its first landmark, a garuda-shaped presidential palace, hosted an independence day ceremony in August 2024 (2024)
Istana Garuda, designed by the sculptor Nyoman Nuarta
The nearest established city and main gateway is the oil port of Balikpapan
It straddles the regencies of Penajam North Paser and Kutai Kartanegara
In 2025 the government redefined it as the country's 'political capital', to be achieved by 2028 (2025)
Presidential Regulation 79/2025; the change of wording alarmed investors
In 2026 the Constitutional Court confirmed that Jakarta stays the capital until a presidential decree says otherwise (2026)
No such decree had been issued
The whole project is costed at around 35 billion dollars and phased to 2045, the centenary of independence
Five phases; private investment has lagged far behind plan
Quick-fire facts
- •In East Kalimantan province, on the east coast of Borneo, near Balikpapan
- •Designated the future capital by Law No. 3 of 2022; construction began in 2022
- •The name is an old Javanese word for the archipelago, associated with the Majapahit empire
- •Announced by President Joko Widodo in 2019; carried on by President Prabowo Subianto
- •The Istana Garuda presidential palace hosted the independence day ceremony on 17 August 2024
- •A 2025 presidential regulation reframed it as Indonesia's 'political capital', targeted for 2028
- •As of 2026 Jakarta remains the legal capital pending a presidential decree
- •Estimated cost around US$35 billion, in five phases running to 2045
- •It spans the regencies of Penajam North Paser and Kutai Kartanegara
Drill it — 8 cards
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Sources
- South China Morning Post — Indonesia's grand capital plan gets a downgrade as Nusantara is redefined
- NPR — Indonesia's capital of the future faces doubts in the present