The food estate is located in Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, which was selected for its relative proximity to Nusantara, some 121 kilometers away by sea. The first phase of the project will involve 1,124 hectares of land.

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, who inaugurated the food estate on Wednesday, said he hoped the food estate would meet the food needs of Nusantara’s inhabitants.

“The food estate also needs to help increase the economy of Central Sulawesi’s residents through the strengthening of food production and quality and quantity, bringing in investment and boosting competitiveness,” Ma’ruf said, as quoted by Antara.

He urged authorities not to abandon legal and environmental principles and to take the counsel of local communities into account.

“All stakeholders must strengthen collaboration and synergy in food production for the IKN.”

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Central Sulawesi Governor Rusdy Mastura welcomed the development of food estate, which could be expanded to 15,000 ha in the future, with corn and soybeans as its main commodities, kompas.id reported.

Some locals lamented the limited access to the food estate. It takes at least 3.5 hours driving along rocky and winding roads from the provincial capital of Palu to reach the location.

Ma’ruf responded to such concerns by saying that authorities would start constructing new roads gradually using the available budget.

In East Kalimantan, the government has started the construction of government buildings in the Nusantara Core Government Area (KIPP) with a deadline of next year for the area’s completion.

According to Public Works and Housing Ministry official Danis H. Sumadilaga, who leads a task force on the new city’s construction, the first phase of the planned new capital’s construction is on schedule and 38.1 percent complete. (alf)