Indonesia is stepping up emergency efforts to protect its ambitious new capital, Nusantara, as major wildfires burn through forests and land surrounding the city in East Kalimantan.
The fires have emerged as a serious new threat to the multibillion-dollar capital project, with hundreds of hectares burned close to areas being developed for government buildings and infrastructure.
A major blaze has affected the Bukit Soeharto forest area, around 50 kilometres from Nusantara’s core government district. Recent reports indicate that one significant fire covered about 458 hectares, while authorities have detected 173 fire hotspots, including dozens of confirmed fires, across affected areas.
Indonesian authorities have mobilised ground crews, helicopters and aircraft in an effort to prevent the fires from moving closer to Nusantara.
Water-bombing operations have been conducted over priority areas, while officials are also preparing cloud-seeding operations to encourage rainfall when suitable weather conditions develop.
Indonesia currently has dozens of aircraft involved in firefighting and weather-modification operations across fire-affected areas. Japan has also provided aircraft and personnel to assist Indonesia’s response.
The Indonesian Air Force has deployed a Caracal helicopter equipped with a water bucket to fight fires near Nusantara, with one fire reported approximately 44 kilometres from the planned capital.
Authorities say many of the fires are believed to have been caused by human activity, including land clearing by burning, rubbish fires and carelessly discarded cigarettes.
President Prabowo Subianto has called for stronger preventive measures and additional resources to control the growing wildfire threat.
Law enforcement authorities are also increasing action against individuals and companies suspected of involvement in illegal burning.
In West Kalimantan, police have named 138 suspects across around 200 investigations, including several companies, as authorities attempt to strengthen enforcement against those responsible for starting fires.
The emergency surrounding Nusantara is part of a much larger wildfire crisis across Indonesia.
Forest and land fires have affected tens of thousands of hectares across Kalimantan and Sumatra, generating dangerous haze and placing increased pressure on Indonesia’s disaster-response agencies.
Officials have described the current dry season as one of the country’s most challenging in years.
As of early September, more than 73,000 hectares had been affected across several of the hardest-hit provinces, according to reports citing Indonesian authorities.
Nusantara was announced in 2019 by former president Joko Widodo as Indonesia’s future capital, designed to reduce pressure on overcrowded Jakarta.
The new city, being constructed in the forests of eastern Borneo, is one of Indonesia’s largest infrastructure projects and has an estimated price tag of around US$32 billion.
Jakarta has long struggled with traffic congestion, flooding, pollution and land subsidence, prompting the decision to establish a new administrative capital.
However, the Nusantara project has faced delays, financial pressures and questions over its long-term development since President Prabowo took office in 2024.
The latest wildfires are now raising fresh concerns about the environmental risks surrounding the city.
Authorities have also warned against misinformation circulating online.
Indonesia’s National Police recently rejected social-media claims suggesting that wildfires had already reached and burned buildings inside Nusantara. Officials said images circulating online were connected to a separate 2025 fire and were not evidence that the current forest fires had reached government buildings.
Nevertheless, officials remain on high alert as fires continue in forest areas surrounding the new capital.
The Nusantara Capital Authority has warned against any land clearing through burning, particularly around the protected Bukit Soeharto forest area, and has strengthened patrols and fire-response operations.
For Indonesia, the battle is now not only about controlling another severe wildfire season — it is also about protecting one of the country’s most important national development projects from an increasingly serious environmental threat.
আপনার মতামত লিখুন :