JakartaPost-June 5, 2024
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has claimed that the new capital in Nusantara will see a big boost in foreign investment in the coming months, as the outgoing leader scrambles to appease concerns about the project, following the surprise departure of two top administrators from the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority. Jokowi, who will step down from office in October, has been under pressure in recent days to address concerns surrounding the fate of his Rp 541 trillion (US$33 billion) new capital city project, for which he has expended massive political resources to get up and running. Several national companies have eagerly accepted the President’s repeated sales pitches over the past few months, but the project has failed to garner similar commitments from foreign investors. On Tuesday, Jokowi visited Nusantara in East Kalimantan to oversee the groundbreaking of construction projects from automotive group Astra and privately owned Gunadarma University. The President also inaugurated the Sepaku Semoi Dam, slated to be one of the new city’s clean water sources. During the groundbreaking ceremonies, Jokowi talked about his meeting with leaders of United Arab Emirates-based multinational real estate developer Emaar Properties, in which the businesspeople complimented the beauty of the under-construction city. “I told him that I wasn’t interested in his compliments; what I want is his investment,” Jokowi said. “He immediately made a commitment [to invest]. I will refrain from mentioning the number, but it’s really big,” he continued, adding that the commitment would be signed in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai in July.
The President then urged prospective investors in the audience to follow suit by immediately buying plots of land in Nusantara before their price goes up, particularly once the transportation networks in and around the new capital are up and running. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2024/06/05/jokowi-looks-to-steady-ikn-authority-ship-claims-big-investment-coming.html
