Indonesia’s half-built dream capital Nusantara stumbles towards a partial opening

The event promises all the trappings of a modern, tech-savvy city, including luxury SUVs ferrying VVIP guests to newly constructed presidential palaces, all paid for with 87 billion rupiah (US$5.4 million) in taxpayer funds. Around 1,300 guests are expected to attend – down from the 8,000 that were initially planned – hosted in presidential suites at the newly-built Swissotel for 20 million rupiah (US$1,200) per night.

But the pomp masks deeper challenges. Construction of the new city remains painfully slow, with Widodo admitting it could take decades to complete. And the decision to relocate the capital has also drawn criticism, with some questioning whether the remote location in East Kalimantan will truly help bridge Indonesia’s stark economic divides.

The island of Java, where the current capital is located, contributed more than half of Indonesia’s US$1.3 trillion gross domestic product last year.

Standing in front of Nusantara’s new presidential residence and offices on Tuesday, Widodo told the dozens of regional officials in attendance that the old state palaces in Jakarta, built for the former Dutch colony’s governor generals, were “overshadowed” by a “colonial smell”.

“We want to show that we have the ability to also build a capital city according to our wishes, according to our design,” he said.

The official timeline for Nusantara envisions a phased transformation, with the first stage from 2022 to 2024 focused on building basic infrastructure – roads, utilities and government buildings. The final stage could take 20 years or more to complete.

Still, “the first independence day ceremony at the new capital city is a milestone for Jokowi”, said Andrinof Chaniago, a former national development planning minister,