IIndonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto said he was determined to “continue and, if possible, complete” the construction of the new capital, dispelling uncertainty over whether the incoming leader would abandon his predecessor’s multibillion-dollar project to pursue his own political agenda.
Prabowo, who will be sworn in as the country’s eighth president in October, estimates the new capital will be “functional” in four to five years, he told reporters on Monday on the sidelines of a visit to the new capital, called Nusantara.
He and incumbent President Joko Widodo are touring the new capital ahead of Independence Day celebrations scheduled for August 17. Some political observers and economists question whether Prabowo will go ahead with the new capital project, as his focus will be on allocating funds for his social policies.
Jokowi, as the politician is known, also chaired his first full cabinet meeting in the new capital later on Monday. He brought dozens of senior officials, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, to the meeting in the new city, built in the jungles of Borneo and more than 1,200 kilometers northeast of Jakarta.
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The outgoing president has been trying to allay doubts about the future of the $35 billion project since the new capital’s chief resigned in June. With construction progressing slowly and no committed foreign investment, Jokowi has increased the number of site visits and pushed through new measures to get as much built as possible before the end of his term.
Jokowi hosted local celebrities and chaired a small cabinet meeting in Nusantara in July, using the office and sleeping in the new presidential palace for the first time. This time, he will stay there for three days, then fly back to Jakarta to deliver an important speech on August 16, and then fly to Nusantara again for Independence Day.
Despite Jokowi’s visits, Nusantara is not yet legally the country’s capital until the president issues a decree transferring that status from Jakarta to the island.
