Prabowo vows completion of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, carrying on Jokowi’s legacy

NUSANTARA: Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto has vowed to push forward with the construction of the country’s new capital Nusantara amid concerns that the government may not be able to simultaneously fund the megaproject as well as a free lunch initiative that was his signature election promise during the presidential campaign earlier this year. 

"I think I have said many times that I am determined to continue and if possible to complete (the construction of) IKN," Mr Prabowo said on Monday (Aug 12), referring to the initials of the city’s full name - Ibu Kota Nusantara. 

In remarks broadcast on Kompas TV's YouTube channel at the sidelines of the inaugural Cabinet meeting in Nusantara, the retired general said he is committed to carrying forward the leadership baton of President Joko Widodo.

Mr Prabowo, who is the current defence minister in Mr Widodo’s Cabinet, also praised the outgoing president for daring to take the historic step of building and moving the capital city from Jakarta on Java island to the province of East Kalimantan.

"Although we are aware that building the capital city is not a short job - it is a long and hard job - but I believe that in three, four, five years (Nusantara) will be able to fulfil its function as a capital city," he said.

Mr Prabowo added: "I am not a technical person but I am empirical, I am also a field person, I have also built a lot. I think if we look at it, I am optimistic and later we will see how beneficial this relocation is, although of course there is still a lot that we have to do.”

The US$32 billion project has struggled to attract investors and experienced delays ahead of Indonesia’s Independence Day celebrations on Aug 17.

Mr Widodo, himself, was initially confident of moving his office to Nusantara by early July. But he was forced to delay the move amid a scramble to get the supply of clean water and electricity up and running.

The president only began working in earnest at his new office at the end of last month. 

Meanwhile, Mr Prabowo on Monday promised to have his office in Nusantara after being inaugurated as president on Oct 20, despite rumours that he is reluctant to move to Nusantara.

"If it's the capital city, the president is in the capital city," he said as quoted by local media outlet Tirto.

"One of the investors is me as a businessman," he added. 

According to a Reuters report, a politician familiar with the progress of Nusantara’s development said the pace of development may not be as fast as it is now after Mr Prabowo takes office.

A member of Mr Prabowo’s coalition, who declined to be named, had also expressed concern about the state Budget’s ability to simultaneously fund the development of the capital city and the free meals programme for students.

Speaking in the Cabinet meeting at the newly minted Garuda Palace on Monday, Mr Prabowo gave his assurance that funding will be made available during his term.

"For this, I also want to assure the Nusantara Capital City Authority that the budget we have prepared is quite large, and I think we can complete several important things (in the development of IKN)," said Mr Prabowo in a video broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel.

No details, however, were provided on the amount of government funding for Nusantara.

At the Cabinet meeting, Mr Widodo said the new capital city has so far received private investment amounting to 56.2 trillion rupiah (US$3.4 billion).

The construction of Nusantara is slated to be completed by the country’s centennial in 2045. The government is aiming for only about 19 per cent of the cost to be funded from the state coffers, with the remainder covered by the private sector.