Jokowi to Review New Capital Project Once in Three Months: Minister

Jakarta: Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono confirmed that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will frequently review, every third month, the progress in construction of the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
 
“Maybe once every three months, he will go there to encourage and support the development of IKN Nusantara,” the minister stated at the Presidential Palace Complex, here, on Monday.
 
Hadimuljono explained that currently, progress in the development of IKN Nusantara had entered the land development phase or land mapping. The PUPR Ministry will sign the land mapping contract on July 15, 2022.

After mapping the land, the government will commence the construction of basic infrastructures, such as toll roads and national roads, as the main access to IKN Nusantara, he stated.
 
The minister noted that the priority development projects in the near future were the Presidential Palace, the Vice President’s Palace, the four coordinating ministry buildings, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) building, and the Constitutional Court.
 
In addition, in the near future, the government will build housing for 200 thousand project workers at IKN.
 
“In August, we will build housing for workers. (This would be for) maybe up to 200 thousand construction workers,” he stated.
 
Hadimuljono explained that the development of IKN Nusantara used the state budget for basic infrastructure development.
 
“Maybe, in the future, we will open the opportunity for investment in hospitals, universities, and others,” he remarked.
 
He believes that the first phase of infrastructure development for IKN will be completed according to the target in 2024.
 
Earlier, the government divided the IKN development into three stages, with the first stage of completion being the construction of core infrastructure, including the Presidential Palace, DPR Building, government offices, headquarters for Indonesia Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri), and housing until 2024.
 
The second phase of IKN development will be conducted during the 2025-2035 period and the third phase during the 2035-2045 period.
 
In terms of the budget, the government requires a total budget of Rp466 trillion to build IKN Nusantara. Of the total budget of Rp466 trillion, the government planned 19-20 percent of it to be sourced from the state budget, while the rest would be channeled from investment and partnerships with the private sector, Hadimuljono elaborated.
 

(WAH)