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View all search resultsJakarta welcomes new age with global ambitions
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Fireworks light up the sky over Jakarta as revelers gather around the illuminated National Monument (Monas) to welcome the New Year on January 1, 2024. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
J
akarta will mark its 498th anniversary this weekend with a renewed vision of transforming into a global center for trade, services, finance and business, even as the city faces persistent questions about its livability and its impending loss of capital status.
This year's celebration adopted the theme “Jakarta, a Global and Cultural City”, reflecting the city’s long-term ambition to evolve into a major international metropolis once it formally relinquishes its role as Indonesia’s capital.
The transition will become official when President Prabowo Subianto issues a decree naming Nusantara, a US$32 billion megaproject in East Kalimantan that was initiated by his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as the new seat of government.
The House of Representatives has passed legislation granting Jakarta special administrative status after the relocation, ensuring that the city remains the country’s primary economic engine and a global hub for trade, finance and service.
Even without its capital title, many believe Jakarta is poised to thrive; retaining its economic clout and playing a central role in driving national growth.
“Jakarta is still very relevant. It remains the country’s economic powerhouse. Its contribution to the national economy is too significant to ignore,” Aditya Perdana, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia (UI), told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Read also: Jakarta to remain Indonesia’s economic hub, new law says
