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Sleepy to Sleepless? Indonesia's Future Capital in the Forest

Reuters

   SEMBOJA, INDONESIA - By day, the unforgiving sun glares off the road
   beside Ipah's wooden home with blinding brightness as a passing
   motorbike stirs a swirl of dust.

   By night, the beams of an occasional truck carrying coal or palm fruits
   pierce the darkness.

   This remote corner of Indonesia is set to be transformed from a forest
   backwater on the island of Borneo to a global city - a new capital of a
   country whose 260 million people make it the world's fourth most
   populous.

   At her stall serving ice tea and instant noodles, Ipah, an 18-year-old
   single mother, worries about what the change will bring.

   "Cities in Kalimantan are peaceful and safe," said Ipah, who like many
   Indonesians uses only one name, referring to the Indonesian part of
   Borneo island. "The capital is a city that never sleeps. Too much
   smoke, too much fuss."

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