JakartaPost-Aug 17, 2023
The government plans to allocate a staggering Rp 40.6 trillion (US$2.6 billion) in next year’s proposed state budget for the construction of the country’s Nusantara Capital City (IKN) project in East Kalimantan. At least Rp 35 trillion, or 86.2 percent of the total amount, is earmarked for the Public Works and Housing Ministry to develop vital infrastructure, including a VVIP airport. The remaining funds are designated for other relevant ministries to develop the necessary facilities in the new capital, including a hospital. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told reporters on Wednesday that the funds were intended to develop critical infrastructure for the nation’s administrative complex, as well as housing for civil servants required to relocate from Jakarta to the new capital. “Our priority in 2024, ahead of moving the capital, is for us to see that the government complex and supporting [facilities] can be [completed] next year,” Sri Mulyani told a press briefing on the proposed 2024 state budget. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s second and final term ends in October 2024, which means this is the last year he can direct resources toward erecting the new capital. In previous years, the government allocated Rp 26.72 trillion in 2023 and Rp 5.24 trillion in 2022 to the project. Sri Mulyani also made assurances that, considering that the new capital was a long-term project, the role of the state budget would gradually diminish and give way to other funding sources beyond the state coffers. Earlier on Wednesday, President Jokowi announced the government’s plan to allocate Rp 422.7 trillion out of next year’s infrastructure budget for development purposes that included the new capital, stadium renovations, roadwork and healthcare facilities. Read more at:
https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2023/08/17/jokowi-govt-sets-final-2-6b-tranche-for-nusantara-next-year.html.
