Stefano Sulaiman and Kate Lamb
Indonesian President seeks damage control over new capital {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
JAKARTA – Indonesia's president is rushing to reassure investors and bureaucrats about a new $32 billion capital city in a malaria-ridden part of Borneo after two officials overseeing the plan resigned, raising fresh doubts about its future.
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President Joko Widodo announced he will start work next month from his office in Nusantara, a huge construction site more than 1,200km from the current capital, Jakarta, but analysts said it was unlikely to ease concerns about the president's legacy projects.
“I think investor confidence has eroded. They were already skeptical and had a wait-and-see attitude, partly because of the uncertainty about the land situation and partly because of the lack of transparency in the governance of the new capital,” said Yanuar Nugroho, a former deputy chief of staff to the president.
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“The resignation is making the situation worse… Instead of explaining what really happened, the government is trying to cover it up,” he said, describing the president as in damage control mode.
Visiting Nusantara a day after two respected bureaucrats resigned without explanation, the president promised to break ground on schools and office buildings and bring foreign investment.
But years after announcing the president's signature project aimed at easing the burden on a city plagued by congestion, pollution, subsidence and overpopulation, it has received zero foreign funding.
Regarding questions about Nusantara's future, the presidential spokesman referred to comments by former president Widodo that the project would continue as planned.
President Jokowi is set to step down in October this year after serving his longest term of two terms as his legacy projects face a host of problems, including land disputes, water supply, the threat of tropical diseases such as malaria, and widespread resistance to civil servant transfers.
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An even bigger obstacle could be President-elect Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo won elections in February promising “continuity,” but the former general has one project that will be his legacy: a $29 billion “free meals” program aimed at curbing stunting.
Prabowo has not yet personally discussed the move with his team to Nusantara but has pledged to continue development, though it is unlikely to proceed at the same speed, a politician with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
A spokesman for Prabowo did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Prabowo has publicly said he is committed to keeping the project going.
Members of Prabowo's coalition government also privately discussed questions about the state budget's ability to fund both the new capital and the nutrition plan, said another senior politician involved.
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“If resources are scarce, that could be put on the back burner,” said political analyst Kevin O'Rourke. “A Prabowo administration would have a lot of competition for other spending items.”
“Sacrifice”
Indonesia's Nusantara is envisioned as an ultra-modern, environmentally friendly smart city with flying taxis, making it more technologically and logistically ambitious than other new administrative capitals in the region, such as Naypyidaw in Myanmar and Putrajaya in Malaysia.
Thousands of civil servants are due to be deployed to Nusantara from September, but some are reluctant to go.
Of about 10 civil servants who spoke to Reuters, only two asked to be transferred, while others said they would consider quitting or being transferred if asked.
“There are no medical facilities, no education facilities, nothing,” said a communications ministry official. “It's not a choice, it's a sacrifice.”
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Danis Sumadiraga, head of the Nusantara project's infrastructure task force, said the government had ensured that basic facilities such as apartments, water, electricity and internet were in place by the time civil servants arrived.
“We need to understand that not all facilities will be readily available. We are going there for work, so what facilities do we want? We cannot expect facilities like in Jakarta,” he said in a recent interview.
Other major government buildings, including the Presidential Palace, the State Palace and some ministry buildings, are scheduled to be completed in August, which is Indonesia's Independence Day.
Chris Ren, CEO of the Indonesia Investment Promotion Association, added that the election and the associated risks had discouraged foreign investment but there was now increased interest.
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“There are interested parties as investors with a range of needs and opportunities across infrastructure, smart city technology, public works and education,” he said. “But the impression is that the pitch is far from complete at this point.”
Public health experts are also concerned about malaria, with the new capital located in Indonesia's part of Borneo, East Kalimantan, which has the second-highest rates of the mosquito-borne disease in the country.
While the government insists the capital is malaria-free, epidemiologists say there remains a risk of infection because of migrant workers illegally cutting down trees in nearby forests.
Malaria rates in Balikpapan, the city closest to Nusantara, more than doubled from 2022 to 2023, according to official data.
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“If we're not careful, I think we will see an increase in malaria cases in the next six months to a year,” said Iqbal Eliazar of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Jakarta.
This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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