Why governments are building huge cities from scratch
If you build it, will the people come?
Why would a government build an entirely new capital city? Soe Win Than, editor of the 麻豆社 Burmese service, explains why Myanmar did exactly that, starting construction of its capital city Nay Pyi Taw in 2002 and completing it ten years later. He also tells us about the extreme secrecy that went into its planning and explains why so few people wanted to move there.
Astudestra Ajengrastri, a reporter with 麻豆社 Indonesia, discusses Nusantara, which is scheduled to replace Jakarta as Indonesia鈥檚 capital in 2024. The government has promised it will be a city of the future that protects green spaces and reduces its environmental impact, but not everyone is convinced.
Saudi Arabia isn鈥檛 building a new capital city, but it has ambitious plans for an eco-city. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is spear-headng The Line, a development with no roads and no cars. It will stretch for 170 kilometres across a desert in the northwest of the country. Amira Fathalla from 麻豆社 Monitoring tells us how the development is coming along two years after plans were first released.
Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Alex Rhodes
Producers: William Lee Adams and Benita Barden
Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks
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