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All eyes on Nusantara as future capital nears curtain up
The country is counting the days until Nusantara, the planned future national capital and President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's legacy project, is showcased at the state's 79th Independence Day celebration. The city is still far from being finished, but it has already fueled economic growth in its surroundings, with locals reaping some of the benefit.
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Merchandising opportunity: Nusantara-themed mugs with the logo “Nusantara Untuk Semua” (Nusantara for all) are showcased in a shop operated by the Bukit Raya village enterprise in North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan, on July 25, 2024. Local businesspeople are setting up enterprises ranging from souvenir shops to accommodations for visitors and workers. (JP/Salman M. Vermonte)
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utgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been racing against all odds to unveil Indonesia's future capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan, just in time for the nation's 79th Independence Day anniversary on Aug. 17.
This year’s celebration promises a series of festivities, with the backdrop of the new presidential palace taking the shape of the mythical bird Garuda, the nation’s symbol, with its black, steel wings.
The new city is far from complete, which has been acknowledged by the President. But the palace, the ceremonial field and some other buildings are ready to host the Independence Day commemoration, an event that has been capitalized on by residents living on the doorsteps of the future capital city.
Despite the bare-bones status of many parts of Nusantara, Jokowi has embarked on at least two publicity tours in the past month to showcase the progress of the work in and around the city, while convincing the world that the future capital is ready for Aug. 17.
The first tour, on July 28, saw Jokowi riding a motorcycle along a scenic route to the future capital city. Along the way, the President, clad in a black motorcycle jacket, opened the Balang Island Bridge, a key part of the new toll road designed to link Nusantara with its surrounding satellite cities.
He then spent two nights, including a sleepless one, at the newly finished Garuda Palace. Many view the palace, with 4,650 blades of steel emulating the mythical bird’s wings, as an architectural marvel, rising majestically from the hilly forests of East Kalimantan in just two years.
