Indonesia to Move Capital From Sinking Jakarta to Borneo

Indonesian president elect Joko Widodo (C) answers questions from the media in Jakarta on July 23, 2014 as Widodo returns to work after the General Elections Commission declared him the winner of the presidential elections. The ex-general who lost Indonesia's presidential election to Joko Widodo will challenge the result in court, his campaign team said, a move that could spell weeks of uncertainty for the country. Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images

JAKARTA—Indonesia’s president announced on Aug. 26 that the country’s capital will move from overcrowded, sinking, and polluted Jakarta to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, known for rainforests and orangutans.

President Joko Widodo said intense studies over the past three years resulted in the choice of the location on the eastern side of Borneo island.