President Joko Widodo is moving through with his $34 billion plan to reconstruct the city from the ground up, and Indonesia will begin building its new capital’s administrative buildings in August.
Jokowi was informed by Minister of Public Works and Housing Basuki Hadimuljono while the president was touring the location of the future state palace. According to the minister, the government will also begin building Nusantara’s infrastructure, which will include water systems, sanitization facilities, and toll highways.
To spread prosperity and growth outside of Java, the richest island, Indonesia proposes to relocate its capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan. Despite concerns that the development of Nusantara might endanger one of the oldest rainforests in the world, the city is being developed as an eco-friendly place that would only utilize renewable energy.
Jokowi stated on Wednesday, “What is most essential is that we want to be Indonesia-centric, not Java-centric. “This East Kalimantan province is the center point when we draw a line from west to east and north to south.”
In an effort to gain support for the proposal, he talked with university students about the proposed capital on Wednesday and invited media leaders to see the location.