CNA Correspondent Podcast: Futuristic utopia or white elephant? Countdown to Indonesia's new capital hosting Independence Day

Despite questions and controversy, Indonesian officials insist Nusantara will be ready to host Independence Day on Aug 17. It is meant to replace the current capital Jakarta, which is beset by pollution, congestion, and is also considered the world's fastest sinking city.

Teresa Tang gets insight from CNA's Saifulbahri Ismail and Lewa Pardomuan. 

Here's an excerpt from the podcast:

Teresa Tang: 
One takeaway I have so far is that Nusantara is very far away. We know it sits on an old timber plantation, and I think, Lewa, you mentioned more than 1000km away from Jakarta. So Saiful, what's going to happen to Jakarta once Indonesia officially moves its capital, whenever that may be? What does it mean when the seat of political power and the centre of wealth are separated?

Saifulbahri Ismail:
Earlier in March this year, lawmakers designated a special status for Jakarta to provide a legal framework for the city's position after Nusantara became the country's capital. Under that framework, Jakarta will remain as the country's economic hub and a global city. The question is, will relocating the country's capital to East Kalimantan help to solve Jakarta's many problems... 

For example, as a global city and an economic hub, Jakarta will surely attract more people to work and live there, right? And this may not solve the issue of overpopulation in the city. When there is overpopulation, it will then stress the city's infrastructure, worsening the problems of traffic congestion and pollution.

The local government said it needs 600 trillion rupiah or nearly US$37 billion to transform Jakarta into a global city. Where (are) they going to get the money? We don't know. The Jakarta administration is currently designing a roadmap to transform the metropolis into a global city. The roadmap will detail Jakarta's long-term development plans for the next 20 years.