Indonesia’s New Capital Nusantara: $35 Billion Project Faces Massive Delays and Funding Challenges

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For starters, it's a long, long way from being finished. Although Widodo began working from the city two weeks ago, many estimates say the new capital won't be fully operational until the 2040s. Most of the core infrastructure is unfinished while many key projects have not been started yet. Construction delays have been a constant problem. Located deep within the jungle on the island of Borneo, known as Kalimantan in Indonesia, it remains a mass of construction sites. The cost has been estimated at around $35 billion (€31.76 billion) but the government's plan is for private investment to fund around 80% of that total amount. The country's finance minister Sri Mulyani told DW's recent Business Beyond program on Indonesia's economy that the government had spent 72 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($4.5 billion, €4.08 billion) on Nusantara over the past three years. She added that the key to financing it is establishing meaningful incentives for private investors, including significant tax breaks. Recently, Widodo announced that investors would have land rights for up to 190 years in the capital.


#OIDW #DWVideos #Nusantara #IndonesiaCapital #NewCapital #ConstructionDelays #Kalimantan #BorneoProject #Widodo #PrivateInvestment #CapitalCity #InfrastructureChallenges #InvestmentIncentives #FinanceMinister #SriMulyani #NusantaraCost #IndonesiaEconomy
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00:00A building that spreads its wings like an eagle.
00:06The presidential palace is shaped like Indonesia's national emblem and sits right at the heart
00:11of the country's new capital, Nusantara, in eastern Borneo.
00:18The government buildings, the government's housing complex and basic infrastructure are
00:22almost finished.
00:25City and water lines have also largely been hooked up.
00:32The center of government will be built here.
00:35That's the president's office in the shape of a Garuda bird.
00:39In front of it is the presidential palace, then government offices.
00:44By July 4th, construction was about 88 percent complete.
00:51Originally, the core Nusantara government complex was expected to be completed in July.
00:58President Jokowi had even planned to start work here weeks before the official move.
01:03But bad weather delayed construction.
01:06Yet, the government insists the first phase is still on schedule.
01:15President Jokowi is building his legacy with a new capital while he is still in power.
01:19But so far, this legacy rests on a couple of buildings and three quarters of the presidential
01:24palace.
01:25A lot now depends on money coming in from abroad.
01:30The budget for the construction of Nusantara is about 30 billion U.S. dollars.
01:35The government plans to allocate only 20 percent of the total from its national budget.
01:41It is relying on domestic and foreign investors to supply the rest.
01:45But so far, no foreign backers have stepped forward to fund this mega project.
01:52Without that money, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to continue construction.
01:57But most experts believe that the government will not stop the project.
02:03The option is to slow down.
02:06They're still using the state budget.
02:08The amount is very small.
02:09The process will be very slow, especially during the transition to the new government.
02:14It's not a total stop, but progress of the development is very, very slow.
02:20The stakes are high for the continuation of the new capital project.
02:24A lot of money has already been spent, but much more is still needed.
02:31While President-elect Prabowo Subianto has pledged to continue construction after Jokowi
02:36steps down, some question whether Nusantara will be one of the new president's priorities.

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