This megacity was built for millions
of people, but its massive streets are still almost empty.
And Egypt is building another megacity from scratch in the middle
of the desert, soon to be home to 6.5 million people and the tallest skyscraper in
the world. As of today no one moved in yet, but will they manage to fill it with people?
And then there are plans to move Jakarta, one of the largest cities in the world, to
this still-empty plot of land in the jungle.
So what is going on here? Why are countries
building entirely new cities from scratch?
Today, we want to dive deep into what is
actually happening in these strange cities, and explore whether these new planned
cities are succeeding or failing.
Let’s start off with Naypyidaw,
the new capital city of Myanmar. This brand-new capital city was built
from scratch between 2002 and 2012. Today it’s Myanmar’s third largest city
by area and has everything a city needs, yet it has become known as an eerie ghost
capital. Far fewer people live in this city than expected. And apart from its distinct lack of
people, its purpose is also quite mysterious.
The official reason for building Naypyidaw is
that Myanmar's former capital city Yangon is overcrowded and has little space to expand. But
there is some evidence that suggests that the real reason for building this strange new capital
may actually be a strategic military move.
For example, the construction of the city was
kept a secret for a long time while about 25 construction companies quietly built the city
for roughly 5 billion dollars. Then suddenly, in 2005, the government announced that it
would move its headquarters 320 kilometers away from Yangon to this new city that
barely anyone had heard about.
But there is more. The location of the city
is very remote with poor access to the sea, which makes it difficult for any enemies to invade
the capital. Also, the road system is strangely laid out in a very inconvenient way, which makes
it difficult to get from one part of the city to another. There is also a 20-lane highway large
enough to serve as a runway for aircrafts.
But this strategic move may not only be
for defensive purposes. In the past, the surrounding regions of Naypyidaw were difficult
for the government to control, so the location of this new capital is supposed to improve the
government's control over these central areas.
Overall, Naypyidaw seems to be the strangest
capital city in the world. Although the population is now growing by about 6% annually, the total
population today is still only at about 750,000 people. This number is far below the 9
million people that the government had originally planned for Naypyidaw.
But strangely, Myanmar was not the only country that decided to move its capital city in 2002.
In South Korea, the Sejong Administrative City was first proposed in 2002 to combat the
uneven economic growth in the country and the congested capital city of Seoul. The project
has been a hot political topic ever since.
Like most capital cities, Seoul is overcrowded
and dominates the country's economy. But in South Korea, it's more extreme than
in other places. Half of the total population lives in the Seoul metropolitan
area. That’s around 25 million people.
Therefore, in 2007, construction
began on Sejong, and in 2012, government agencies began moving from crowded
Seoul to the new capital, just 125 kilometers away. The original plan was for all government
agencies to relocate by 2012, but today, almost half of the government ministries still remain
in Seoul, along with the National Assembly.
Sejong has been designed with everything
a self-sufficient city needs, with lots of green spaces and ample provision for electric
vehicles. The city also features smart tech such as interactive digital signage and automated
rubbish and food waste collection. But strangely, many people still prefer to take a four-hour
drive to their workplace in Seoul rather than move to Sejong. Many people have pointed out
that Sejong is having insufficient transportation links and services to draw people away from
Seoul. And despite its futuristic concept for high-end housing with generous green
spaces, Sejong is criticized for promoting car dependency and a lack of community spirit.
But Sejong may only be getting started. Currently, about 400,000 people live in Sejong, which is
nothing compared to Greater Seoul's population of 25 million. But as Seoul's pollution,
overcrowding, rising real estate prices and heavy traffic continue, families are beginning
to look outside Seoul for better conditions. As construction on Sejong progresses, more
institutions and businesses are also relocating to the future capital. And when Sejong officially
becomes the capital of South Korea in 2030, the population is expected to reach 500,000
people. From there, the city is then expected to develop organically. However, only time
will tell whether all government functions can be moved to Sejong during the next 7 years and
whether the city can fulfill its big vision.
But Sejong and Naypyidaw are not the only
new cities being built from scratch. There are numerous new city projects around the
world, such as "NEOM" in Saudi Arabia, Bitcoin City in El Salvador, and Egypt's new
administrative capital. The latter has already made great progress and appears to be one of the
largest and most promising new cities planned.
Egypt's new administrative capital is an enormous
project located just 80 kilometers east of Egypt's current capital, Cairo. When completed,
the new city will house the government and roughly 6.5 million people. That's about 70%
of Cairo's current population. Although the new city remains virtually empty today, the first
people are expected to move in this year.
Nevertheless, the new capital is still
missing a proper name. Therefore, the Egyptian government has even announced a
competition to come up with a name and a logo for the new administrative capital.
But why is Egypt even building this massive city?
To answer that, we just have to take a quick look at Cairo. Cairo is
currently home to nearly 10 million people, with the greater Cairo region boasting a population
of over 21 million people. And this number is expected to grow drastically to 38 million by
2050. Therefore, in 2014, the newly elected President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi proposed this
massive megaproject to alleviate the increasing traffic congestion and overpopulation in Cairo.
At the moment it’s well into construction with the visible completion of government, residential and
commercial buildings. Even during the pandemic, the government gave assurances that the pace
of construction had not been affected and that the project was on schedule. As of now, the
government district is already 98% complete, and the first government departments
are ready to move to the new city and operate entirely from there in 2023.
Egypt's new administrative capital will feature an international airport, a stadium and leisure
district, a monorail to Cairo, and impressive mosques and churches. In addition, the city is
home to the Iconic Tower, which has now reached its full height, making it the tallest skyscraper
in Africa. But if all goes according to plan, the Iconic Tower will not keep this title for
long. Egypt plans to start construction of a much taller skyscraper in their new capital city this
year. This skyscraper will be called the Oblisco Capitale and will reach an incredible height of
1 km - taller than any building in the world.
The new city is funded by the sale of land by the
Egyptian government and billions of dollars in loans from China. Additionally, the construction
of the Iconic Tower is also being completed by a Chinese construction company. These financial ties
and dependence on China are a constant source of intense political debate in the country. There are
also concerns about the entire megaproject itself, as it could become an exclusive city for wealthy
Egyptians only. This would mean a lack of business and investment for Cairo, which could lead to
growing poverty and overpopulation in Cairo.
There can be no doubt that this new city
is happening, but it remains to be seen if this new capital will be a success and
how many people will actually move in.
Another development is also under construction
in Indonesia right now. Similar to Egypt's New Administrative Capital, the new city of Nusantara
will also replace the current capital Jakarta.
Since the 1950’s successive Indonesian
governments have spoken about moving the country's administrative capital away from
Jakarta. In January 2022, the parliament finally passed a bill to relocate the capital city to
a jungle site over 2000 kilometers away, which is located on an entirely different island.
But why would the Indonesian government commit so much money and effort to move the country's
capital so far away, and when will it happen?
Jakarta is famous for its overcrowding and
pollution, full of the noise and fumes of motorbikes, with nearly 11 million inhabitants
in the city itself and around 30 million in the wider Jakarta urban area. It’s also the
fastest-sinking city in the world and has sunk 2.5 meters in the ten years leading up to 2019, with
increasingly frequent incidents of flooding.
Indonesia's National Research and Innovation
Agency recently published a study in which they estimated that 25% of Jakarta would be
underwater by 2050 unless drastic action is taken. The study identified the main cause of
Jarkartas subsidence to be the increasing overuse of groundwater. In addition, climate change
is causing sea level rise and more frequent extreme weather events, leading to flash
flooding both from the sea and upriver.
A mosque and a few houses have
already been lost to the sea, despite the ongoing construction of a 47-kilometer
sea wall along the sinking shoreline.
Jakarta's desperate situation is the main
reason for the Indonesian government to build a completely new capital on the island of
Borneo. Flying over the jungles of Borneo today, you can see that the first phases of construction
are already underway. Roads, access routes, and the sites of the main government buildings
have already been cleared of trees.
This new city will be called Nusantara
and it will be built on a 2,500 km2 site, roughly 3 times the size of New York City,
most of which is currently rainforest.
There are multiple reasons to locate Nusantara
here. Borneo is more geographically central and culturally representative of Indonesia than
Jakarta on the island of Java. It’s hoped that Nusanataras construction will relieve Jakarta's
overcrowding while enhancing economic growth in Borneo and throughout Indonesia. On top of that,
Borneo experiences a much lower incidence rate of natural disasters compared to low-lying Java
and other islands that suffer from flooding, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
The new city will be built in 5 stages: Stage one began with a ceremonial
spade of the earth in August 2022, and stage five is scheduled for completion in 2045
when the population of Nusantara is supposed to reach two million people. Current estimates are
that the project will cost $32 billion, 40% of which will be private investment from Indonesian
and international companies. The aim is for the government to move to Nusantara in 2024, though
this now looks unlikely from the progress on site. A Japanese government delegation recently visited
the site and later removed their investment, so the Indonesian government is now looking
to wealthy nations in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Just as in Egypt, China is also likely to play a big role in the construction of Nusantara.
As with Naypyidaw, Sejong, and Egypt’s new capital, only time will tell if Nusantara will
ever be finished and if it will become a success with millions of people moving in.
What do you think about building these new mega-cities from scratch? Would you want
to live in one of them? Let us know in the comments below. If you want to see more about
another city built from scratch, check out our video about Saudi Arabia’s The Line. Thank you for
watching, and we will see you in the next video!
