By day, the unforgiving sun glares off the road beside Ipah's wooden home as passing motorbikes stir swirls of dust. By night, the beams of occasional trucks carrying coal or palm fruits pierce the darkness. This remote corner of Indonesia is set to be transformed from a forest backwater on Borneo into a global city — a new capital of the world's fourth-most-populous country, with 260 million people.

At her stall serving iced 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."