Jokowi has been pushing to move the national capital from traffic-clogged and sinking Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan before he leaves office in October. He is expected to inaugurate the new city during the Independence Day celebrations on Aug 17.

The inauguration will be followed by the first wave of relocation in September that will see almost 12,000 civil servants call Nusantara their new home, some two months after Jokowi and a handful of ministers will start to work there in July. More civil servants are expected to relocate in batches in the future.

In a string of meetings at the House of Representatives this month, a number of ministries and government bodies requested increased budgets in order to meet the expenses in Nusantara for the 2025 fiscal year.

The IKN Authority, for example, said it would need an additional Rp 29.8 trillion (US$1.8 billion) for next year's budget.

Interim IKN Authority deputy head Raja Juli Antoni said during a June 10 meeting that the additional funds would be used for to manage state assets in the future capital, particularly once the Public Works and Housing Ministry hands the assets over to the IKN Authority.

A day later, the Cabinet Secretariat proposed a budget increase for next year, with Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung saying “it would be impossible” for his office to operate without additional money because they will have offices both in the new capital city and the country’s soon-to-be former capital, Jakarta.