Top officials for Indonesia’s new $32.5B capital city Nusantara resign

In 2019, Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, pledged to move Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta on the island of Java, to “Nusantara,” a to-be-constructed city on the island of Borneo over 800 miles away.

Jokowi blamed Jakarta’s overpopulation and flooding risk for the move. The city, already under sea level, is sinking, increasing the chance of disruptive floods during heavy rainfall, in turn becoming more frequent due to climate change. 

But over four years later, the project is struggling with a lack of foreign investment. Jokowi’s administration hoped that international investors would fund 80% of the $32.5 billion project, but foreign investors are reportedly wary.

Now, to make matters worse, the top officials overseeing the project just left. 

Indonesia Secretary of State Pratikno announced the resignations of the head of the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) Bambang Susantono and the deputy head Dhony Rahajoe on Monday. The public works and housing minister will serve as Nusantara’s acting head, Pratikno said.

Susantono will take on a new portfolio involving international cooperation, according to state news agency Antara.

The resignations came just one day before Jokowi was scheduled to visit the new capital. Indonesia’s president arrived on Tuesday; during his visit, he is expected to inaugurate educational projects and inspect preparations for upcoming Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 17.

In an Instagram post released shortly after the resignations were announced, Jokowi said Nusantara’s construction remains on track. Indonesia plans to transfer over 10,000 civil servants to the new city in September. 

The Nusantara project has already been beset by construction delays, complications with acquiring land, and a lack of funding. High profile investors like Softbank have already pulled out. 

The Jokowi administration has tried to sell Nusantara as a green, high-tech metropolis with high-speed transport and modern architecture. Indonesia hopes that up to 1.9 million people will move to Nusantara by 2045. (Around 11 million people currently live in Jakarta)

Jokowi’s successor, incoming president Prabowo Subianto, has pledged to continue Nusantara’s development during his campaign trail.  

Jokowi is still full-steam ahead on the Nusantara project. On Monday, Indonesia’s minister of public works and housing told an Indonesian outlet that Jokowi plans to relocate to the new city as soon as clean water supplies are established, potentially as soon as late June.