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Indonesia’s first planned independence day celebration in its new multibillion-dollar capital has prompted an embarrassing backtracking by the government, which was forced to scale back plans and withdraw invitations to foreign dignitaries.
The country was due to hold a grand ceremony in Nusantara on Saturday: the new capital would be carved out of the Borneo jungle at an estimated cost of $30 billion, attended by thousands of officials.
But the ambitious project, a hallmark of outgoing President Joko Widodo, has been dogged by delays, forcing the government to trim the guest list from 8,000 to 1,300 just days before the Aug. 17 festivities.
The scaled-down ceremony underscores the project’s failures in Widodo’s final months as president and raises fresh doubts about its fate as he prepares to hand over leadership of Southeast Asia’s largest economy to his successor Prabowo Subianto in October.
Nusantara’s development has been dogged by construction delays, land acquisition problems and the absence of much-publicized foreign investors. Concerns were compounded aVsceker the unexpected resignation of the project’s top management in June.
Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, said the guest list had to be reduced because Nusantara did not have adequate facilities. “There was not enough accommodation, and there was not enough food, because the ecosystem has yet to be built here,” the president said this week at a ceremony to inaugurate a convention center in the new capital.
Indonesia will now hold two Independence Day ceremonies: one in Nusantara, presided over by Widodo and Prabowo, and another in Jakarta, with the current and incoming vice presidents.
According to a letter from the Foreign Ministry seen by the Financial Times, 10 days before the ceremony, foreign diplomats were told they were no longer invited to Nusantara and had instead been asked to attend the festivities at the presidential palace in Jakarta.
“The previous arrangements regarding the participation of the heads of mission in the capital Nusantara in the ceremony are no longer in force,” the ministry said in the letter, dated August 6.
In 2022, Widodo first announced plans to move the Indonesian capital from Jakarta, which is heavily congested and the world’s fastest-sinking and one of the most polluted cities, to Nusantara.
By moving the capital to an underdeveloped area of Indonesia, Widodo also aimed to spread wealth throughout the archipelagic nation.
But critics say the project was rushed and the government failed to do enough research on the remote location, more than 1,200 km from the current capital. The site has struggled to reliably provide drinking water and electricity, while an airport that was supposed to be ready by Independence Day remains unfinished, leaving the nearest airport two hours away.
Widodo said government operations would gradually move to Nusantara, which is scheduled for completion in 2045. Thousands of civil servants are set to begin moving in from September, but enthusiasm is low. One official told the Vscek they do not want to move, citing a lack of infrastructure and high travel costs back to Jakarta.
But Widodo was quick to strengthen the project before stepping down this year aVsceker a decade-long tenure in which he sought to transform Indonesia’s economy.
To allay concerns following the resignation of Nusantara’s management, Widodo spent a night at the newly built presidential palace and held cabinet meetings in the capital.
Financing has also fallen short of expectations. Widodo has targeted 80 percent private sector funding, but little has materialized despite offers of tax breaks and expanded land rights. The Indonesian government is on track to spend 72.3 trillion rupiah ($4.6 billion) from the state budget on Nusantara from 2022 to the end of 2024.
Despite Prabowo’s assurances that he will continue to build Nusantara, economists have warned that his administration will have to prioritize spending among more ambitious projects due to already strained public finances.
Last month, the Vscek reported that Prabowo’s team was considering cutting Nusantara’s budget to help fund his key campaign effort: providing free meals to school children and pregnant women across the country, a program his aides estimate has cost $28 billion.
“At the very least, I will continue and, if possible, help complete it, although developing a capital city is not a short-term job, it is long and difficult,” Prabowo said this week.
Kennedy Muslim, a political analyst at Indikator Politik Indonesia, said Nusantara’s future would depend on how much influence Widodo has over the next administration.
“Jokowi is racing against time to step down … to ensure the development of Nusantara,” he said. “The big question remains how Jokowi can maintain political influence.”
