Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday approved plans to move the country's capital from Jakarta to an unspecified new location.

Ideas to move the capital have long been circulated by previous governments, but Widodo's marks the first formal decision to relocate it off Indonesia's most populous island, Java.

Bold decision

Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said the government decided from three options:

• Move the capital off Java Island.
• Relocate the capital near to Jakarta.
• Leave the capital in Jakarta, but relocate government buildings around the presidential palace.

Read more: Jakarta: Saving a sinking megacity

'Could take 10 years'

Planning Minister Brodjonegoro said: "This is a big job, impossible to take just one year, it could take 10 years."

President Widodo said: "We want to think in a visionary way for the progress of this country and moving the capital requires thorough and detailed preparation."

Sprawling mega-city

Jakarta, a city of 10 million people, suffers from chronic pollution, congestion and contaminated resources. Some 30 million people live in the surrounding towns and villages, contributing to the city's poor conditions.

While authorities have yet to choose a site for the new capital, Brodjonegoro said it would require up to 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres).

Read more: 'Land swap' plan endangers Indonesia's rainforest

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ls/amp (Reuters, AP)