Nusantara construction to complete in 10-15 years: Indonesia

Jakarta, Aug 13 (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has projected the construction of Indonesia's new capital city Nusantara in East Kalimantan to be completed in around 10–15 years.

"It still requires a long time. It was started in 2021–2022 and will be completed in about 10–15 years," the president stated while giving directions to regional heads at the Nusantara State Palace, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday.

He underlined that so far, Nusantara's construction has only reached 20 percent.

The president emphasized that the construction in Nusantara does not only cover the Core Government Area (KIPP), which includes the Presidential Palace, Vice President's Palace, and offices of ministries but also those outside the KIPP area.

Many facilities, including hospitals, universities, and hotels, will be built outside the KIPP area.

"As far as I remember, there were five hotels. Yesterday, there was an addition, so there are six. Six hospitals are also in the construction process," he remarked.

He noted that the construction of properties, housing areas, and other supporting facilities had also started.

On Tuesday, President Jokowi gave directions to hundreds of regional heads and welcomed them to the new capital.

He emphasized that through the construction of Nusantara, the government is aiming to show that Indonesia can build the nation's capital city according to its aspirations and designs, although it will take quite a long time.

Earlier, during a cabinet meeting in Nusantara on Monday (August 12), President Jokowi stated that investments in the new capital city had reached Rp56.2 trillion (around US$3.54 billion).

He noted that 55 investors had conducted the groundbreaking of construction in Nusantara, including six investors from the education sector, three investors from the health sectors, and 10 investors from the retail and logistics sectors.