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Jokowi presses on with capital city relocation despite pandemic
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center) speaks with Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) and Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono (left) about the government's plan to build a road to connect the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road to the site of the new capital city, which is to occupy a 256,000 ha area in East Kalimantan's North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regencies. (Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau/Lukas)
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fter more than a year’s delay, the plan to relocate the nation’s capital to East Kalimantan will proceed, the government has said, with the first order of business being to formalize the legal framework for the construction of the new city.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced the resumption of the plan, which had been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, on a one-day trip to East Kalimantan on Tuesday. During the visit, he inspected a section of the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road, which is expected to connect to the site of the new capital.
“The new capital agenda will proceed as planned,” Jokowi said on Tuesday, adding that the government was preparing road access to the site to enable the city’s construction.
Jokowi said he had visited the province to personally inspect the construction of public facilities that would support the new capital, among other agendas. The facilities include proposed upgrade to existing seaport and airport.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who joined Jokowi on the visit along with Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, said he supported the President’s relocation project.
“We need to have the courage to relocate the capital, to separate the center of government from the center of business and trade,” said Prabowo. “I think the plan has been assessed carefully.”
It was first time after the project’s postponement last year that the government acknowledged its intention to proceed with the relocation.
