STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. Indonesia’s public works ministry on Monday (Nov 28) proposed around 12.7 trillion rupiah (S$1.1 billion) in extra funds over the next two years to speed up construction of the country’s new capital city on Borneo island. If approved by the finance ministry, the public works ministry will see a 30 per cent rise to around 55.7 trillion rupiah in its planned construction budget for the new seat of government, which will be called Nusantara.
Previously, the government planned to spend 43 trillion rupiah in the 2022-2024 period as part of the US$32 billion project. The government has said it will only finance about a fifth of the total cost and that investors would bankroll the rest.
Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono said that his ministry will speed up the infrastructure development of the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara. The government will focus on working on land development projects and road construction which will start in January 2023, because President Joko Widodo wants to take investors to IKN to offer them projects.
“In the second quarter, President Joko Widodo wants to invite investors [to the new capital] to offer which neighborhoods to be used for building hospitals and other facilities,” Basuki said in a working meeting with Commission V DPR RI at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Monday, November 28, 2022. This morning, Basuki said that he had held a limited meeting to discuss the financing of the new capital project, including the financing of the IKN Authority Agency with its investment in basic infrastructure.
The governments of Finland and Spain have expressed their interest in collaborating with Indonesia for developing the country’s new capital city (IKN), Nusantara, the IKN Authority said. “IKN (Authority) welcomes any countries that want to work together to build (IKN) Nusantara,” head of the IKN Authority, Bambang Susantono, said in a statement issued on Saturday.
He noted that earlier, several other countries, including South Korea and Saudi Arabia, also conveyed their interest in cooperating with the IKN Authority. “We are open to any investors to cooperate in any certain sectors,” he added. Representatives of the Finnish and Spanish governments recently met with officials from the IKN Authority at its office.
Nusantara Capital City Authority Chair Bambang Susantono on Monday said there is growing interest to invest in the new capital, after a market poll. “After the poll, the number of investors who contacted us increased dramatically by nearly 40 percent,” he said.
Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono on Monday said the ministry will speed up the infrastructure development of new capital Nusantara. The government will focus on working on land development projects and road construction which will start in January 2023, because President Jokowi wants to take investors to the new capital city to invite them to invest.
