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Missed construction targets put capital relocation plan in limbo
The construction of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan has missed its target of having basic infrastructure such as water supply and electricity and some state offices built by the end of this month, forcing the government to delay the capital relocation plan once again and raising more questions about the feasibility of the megaproject.
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This photograph shows Indonesia's future Presidential Palace on July 11, 2024, in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN), in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan. The new city is scheduled to begin operating as the country's new political center on August 17, 2024, on Indonesia's 79th Independence Day. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
The plan to relocate the country’s capital to the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan has once again come into question amid slow construction progress and missed deadlines.
Only one month is left before Nusantara is slated to hold its first ever Independence Day celebration on Aug. 17, which is also expected to be the celebration of the official transfer of the Indonesian capital city from Jakarta.
Yet, the new city is still far from complete. Basic infrastructure, such as water supply, has yet to be operational in Nusantara as the development task force was hindered by bad weather from launching the water supply tests in the past weeks.
The Nusantara development task force initially aimed to finish the tests as early as July 8, but any progress in building the water system has been hampered by heavy rain in the area in the past month.
“Because of the rain, we’re forced to postpone the schedule to complete basic water infrastructure,” said Imam Santoso Ernawi, head of the Nusantara development task force under the Public Works and Housing Ministry, during a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday
He added that the task force aimed to finish the quality control tests for the clean water supply by July 17, over a week later than initially intended.
