Construction at Nusantara Capital City (IKN), in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan. The new city is scheduled to begin operating as the country's new political center on August 17, 2024, on Indonesia's 79th Independence Day. - AFP
JAKARTA: The plan to relocate the country’s capital to the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan has once again come into question amid slow construction progress and missed deadlines.
Only one month is left before Nusantara is slated to hold its first ever Independence Day celebration on Aug. 17, which is also expected to be the celebration of the official transfer of the Indonesian capital city from Jakarta.
Yet, the new city is still far from complete. Basic infrastructure, such as water supply, has yet to be operational in Nusantara as the development task force was hindered by bad weather from launching the water supply tests in the past weeks.
The Nusantara development task force initially aimed to finish the tests as early as July 8, but any progress in building the water system has been hampered by heavy rain in the area in the past month.
“Because of the rain, we’re forced to postpone the schedule to complete basic water infrastructure,” said Imam Santoso Ernawi, head of the Nusantara development task force under the Public Works and Housing Ministry, during a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday (July 11).
He added that the task force aimed to finish the quality control tests for the clean water supply by July 17, over a week later than initially intended.
Once the water system runs, the reservoir for the new city will hold around 6,000 cubic meters of water and release 150lt per second, which is “more than enough to meet the needs” for clean drinking water in the new city, Imam said.
The same goes for electricity, as there are currently 10 megawatts (MW) produced by a solar power plant established in Nusantara. The figure falls short of the 50 MW the government promised by July.
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the government is still working to procure another 40 MW for the city, but the current capacity is sufficient for Nusantara's current operation.
“July goes until the 31st,” said Basuki, who is also the acting IKN Authority head, on Wednesday, as quoted by Kompas.
“I’ve always said that water and electricity would be available in Nusantara by mid-July.”
Most of the new city’s buildings are also unfinished, with the new State Palace 88 per cent complete and several ministry buildings only with their lower floors usable.
Despite the sluggish progress, Imam said the city would be ready for the Independence Day celebration on Aug. 17, slated to be attended by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as well as Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto.
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka will attend the celebration in Jakarta.
The ceremonial field was fully completed and ready to use as of Thursday, and the main rooms at the State Palace should be functional by the end of this month after more testing and commissioning throughout July.
“The target for Independence Day doesn’t mean that all the buildings will be finished by that day, but that they can function well to serve the event,” Imam said.
The lack of basic infrastructure is the main reason for Jokowi to postpone his plan to work from Nusantara as early as July, as announced last month.
“If the water is ready, if the electricity is ready, if the place is ready, we’ll move there,” Jokowi told reporters on Tuesday (July 9).
“I’ve received [a report that Nusantara] is not ready yet.”
The President also has not signed a presidential decree to formalise the city’s status as the national capital, leaving the capital relocation plan in legality limbo.
The Jakarta Special Designation Law has stipulated the revocation of Jakarta’s status as the capital city, but it depends on the issuance of the presidential decree designating another city as the new capital. Jokowi said that the decree could be issued by either his or Prabowo’s administration when the president-elect is sworn in in October, adding that he did not want to force something that was not finished.
Several officials, ranging from People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker Ahmad Muzani and Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, have also asserted that Prabowo’s inauguration will take place at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta, rather than in the IKN.
The postponement of the capital city relocation was not surprising for Agus Pambagio, public policy expert from the University of Indonesia, who said the difficult locations of tall buildings delayed construction work on the IKN.
“Relocating the capital to a new city in Kalimantan will take 10 years to complete at the very least, or 20 if we’re being realistic,” Agus said on Friday (July 12).
“We can’t rush this.”
The lack of investors in the megaproject also puts Prabowo in a difficult position once he is sworn in office, as he will need to choose whether to continue the IKN project at a snail’s pace or abandon the capital relocation plan altogether because of lack of funding, Agus added.
Promising continuity as his campaign platform for the presidential election, Prabowo has pledged to resume Jokowi’s landmark projects, including the IKN. – The Jakarta Post/ANN
