A photo taken in March 2024 showing the construction progress of Nusantara's presidential palace and ceremonial plaza. - INDONESIA PUBLIC WORKS AND HOUSING MINISTRY
JAKARTA: President Joko Widodo has made a trip to East Kalimantan and reassured the public that Indonesia’s planned new capital there is on track, just a day after the bombshell announcement that leaders of the body overseeing the project have resigned.
On Tuesday (June 4), speaking at an event in the city of Balikpapan, the closest port of call to the upcoming capital Nusantara, Widodo stressed how the new city was still currently “in the development process” and that it would be the “greenest capital in the world”.
He noted that as much as Nusantara will be filled with buildings, it will also be filled with green spaces, and that the city will be designed to include city parks as well.
“The dream city of the future... is a ... smart city, a creative city, which is liveable,” he said.
His comments in Balikpapan, a two-hour drive to Nusantara, came after news broke on June 3 about the resignations of the head and deputy head of the new capital project.
In an Instagram post later that day, Widodo said that the development of Nusantara will not stop.
“The development of IKN will continue according to the shared vision that has been established,” he said, using the initials of the city’s full name – Ibu Kota Nusantara.
On June 3, Indonesia’s presidential office announced that Widodo had accepted the resignations of Bambang Susantono, a former official at the Asian Development Bank who was heading the project, and his deputy Dhony Rahajoe, an architect and former real estate developer.
State Secretary Pratikno, who goes by one name, said that Bambang has been assigned to a new job to assist Widodo in “strengthening international cooperation” to build the new city.
No details, including whether Bambang will be part of a council or a ministry, have been given so far.
Widodo has appointed Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono as the acting head of the Nusantara Authority and Vice Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning Raja Juli Antoni as his deputy.
The President so far has not made any reference as to the reasons for the departure of Bambang or Dhony, which had raised questions about the status of the US$32 billion (S$43 billion) project.
He is expected to make the journey to Nusantara on June 4 to inaugurate several projects, including schools, while celebrations for Indonesia’s Independence Day are planned there for Aug 17. - The Straits Times/ANN
