KN. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) plans to collaborate with Indonesia in the development of the new capital project Nusantara (IKN), said USTDA Director Enoh T. Ebong in a digital press conference on Tuesday. She said that the United States has quite an extensive portfolio in Indonesia, focusing on work in the energy sector. She added that the main focus of the U.S. delegation’s recent visit to IKN was the work that is being carried out in relation to the new capital city in Nusantara, and in particular seeing how the city was being built using new technologies in the development of smart cities.
Water infrastructure companies from Japan, China and South Korea are eager to take part in Indonesia’s ambitious multibillion-dollar project to build a new capital, as the first phase of the relocation is set to start in August. The Indonesian government plans to relocate the capital from Jakarta to Nusantara, a new city being built on the island of Borneo. While the country is still developing the city’s basic infrastructure, it expects to have a population of 2 million by 2040 and host a range of industries, creating huge demand for clean water and water management systems (Nikkei Asia 29 Mei 2024).
President Jokowi is set to inaugurate the ANTARA News Agency’s office in Nusantara during his upcoming visit to the new state capital to officiate the groundbreaking of several education-related projects. Scheduled to arrive in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, on June 4, President Jokowi will visit and officiate ANTARA’s office on June 5.
The head and deputy head of Indonesia’s new capital city authority, who oversee the $32 billion project, have resigned, the state secretariat minister said on Monday. The resignations come ahead of President Joko Widodo’s planned celebration at the new capital on Indonesia’s Independence day on August 17, and the scheduled transfer of thousands of civil servants this September. That plan has already been delayed several times.
The head and deputy head of the body overseeing Indonesia’s planned new capital have unexpectedly resigned, raising questions about the US$32 billion project. With Jakarta, the current capital of 10 million, overcrowded and plagued by massive traffic jams as well as chronic flooding and sinking land, Indonesia is building a new capital, called Nusantara, in the jungles of East Kalimantan on Borneo – an island shared with Malaysia.
Economist and Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Bhima Yudhistira commented on the resignation of the IKN Authority Head Bambang Susantono. According to Bhima, the resignation is a negative signal for the new capital development, Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan. Notably, Bambang did not resign by himself but together with his deputy, Dhony Rahajoe. “The project’s sustainability is questioned,” said Bhima. “This leaves a less-than-stellar reflection, a negative signal for the sustainability of the IKN project, especially under the new government.” Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Economist and Director Bhima Yudhistira said Susantono’s resignation is a negative signal that will sow doubts among both domestic and foreign investors.
The Indonesian government is seeking to ensure sustainable construction in the new national capital Nusantara by using green cement supplied by state-owned PT Semen Indonesia (SIG).”The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is seeking to encourage the supply of domestic industry-based material resources and construction equipment, which can support sustainable infrastructure development principles,” PUPR Ministry’s secretary general, Mohammad Zainal Fatah, informed in Jakarta. The ministry is also encouraging collaboration between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to realize sustainable construction.
State Secretary Minister Pratikno at the Presidential Palace announced that Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority Bambang Susantono and his deputy Doni Rahayu have stepped down from their positions with letters of honorable dismissal and appreciation from President Jokowi, who appointed Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono and Deputy Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Raja Juli Antoni as interim chair and deputy. Pratikno said Bambang would be appointed a new task in assisting the President directly to “bolster international cooperation in expediting the IKN’s development.”
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono expressed hope that investors’ confidence would remain high and optimism that his appointment as acting OIKN head would not reduce investor confidence, adding that the government had completed 80 percent of infrastructure projects in the planned new capital.
Basuki Hadimuljono confirmed that President Jokowi will start working from the new capital city once the water channel enters the IKN area, expected by July 2024. The Indonesian government planned to conduct the sixth phase of the groundbreaking for the new capital city Nusantara (IKN) for two days in early June 2024. “The sixth groundbreaking is scheduled for June 4 and 5,” IKN Authority spokesperson Troy Pantouw said