JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Wednesday that he plans to start working from the country’s new capital city next month amid concerns over the future of the project following resignations of senior executives overseeing the development.
Jokowi said progress of a number of infrastructure development projects under the first phase of the $32-billion capital city, called Nusantara, on Borneo island, had reached around 80%.
“God willing, in July I will start working from the new capital city,” Jokowi said in an Instagram post, adding that preparations to celebrate the country’s 79th Independence Day in the new capital in August are well under way.
The head and deputy head of the body overseeing the planned new capital have unexpectedly resigned, an official said on Monday, raising concerns that it would shake investor sentiment.
Jokowi earlier on Wednesday dismissed the concern when asked whether he is worried about it. He was in Nusantara to inspect the development progress and launch more building construction.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo addresses participants in a ceremony designating the “zero point” of Nusantara, the country’s new capital city, on March 14, 2022 (Photo: Laily Rachev for the Presidential Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons)