Indonesia’s future capital currently faces doubt: NPR

Nusantara, Indonesia – In the jungle of Indonesia’s Borneo island, construction is underway on a new futuristic capital powered by renewable energy and advanced technology.

Current capital of Indonesia, Jakarta – now largest city in the world – Is polluted and overcrowded, and it’s sinking. So in 2019, the Indonesian government announced a bold plan: building Nusantara, a new capital.

The site is located about a two-hour drive from the neighboring town of Balikpapan. Construction of Nusantara began in 2022, and the city’s main government district is almost complete. The area features a vast green park surrounded by white office buildings with plants on their balconies, a bank that resembles a spaceship and the city’s centerpiece – a 250-foot-tall metal structure shaped like Garuda, an eagle-like mythological bird that is the country’s national symbol. Its 500-foot wing towers over Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Construction work can be seen among some new buildings in Nusantara.

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But there are concerns that progress on the more than $30 billion project has been slow. The timeline has been delayed due to logistics, funding challenges, and the presidential election. And local critics worry that construction could harm the environment and nearby native populations.

Today, the broader metro area contains about 150,000 people – a mix of construction workers and long-established villages. But the core of the new city is home to only about 10,000 residents, including about a thousand civil servants.

Nusantara was a signature project of former President Joko Widodo. Since current leader Prabowo Subianto took office in October 2024, some critics of the projects have questioned whether they have the same enthusiasm. State funding for the project was halved to 2026 compared to the previous year. More than a year after taking up the position, Prabowo made his first visit to the site this January.

“Political capital” by 2028.

The uncertainty has led to concerns, especially in the international press, that Nusantara could become a “ghost town”.

But Nusantara Capital City Authority chief Basuki Hadimulajono dismisses such concerns, saying, “Don’t worry. It will be continued.”

Nusantara Capital City Authority head Basuki Hadimuljono says construction of the legislative and judicial buildings will be completed by next year.

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Last year, Prabowo signed a presidential regulation designating Nusantara the “political capital” of Indonesia by 2028 – which is different from the previous language calling it the “national capital”. The change confused other lawmakers and policy experts, who were concerned about the lack of emphasis on the project.

For Basuki, the regulation was a symbol of support for the President. He says the president plans to eventually move to Nusantara in 2028, once the legislative and judicial buildings are completed next year. Meanwhile, there are plans to transfer 4,100 more civil servants to the city this year.

Still, this goal is far from achieved 1.2 million inhabitants Here till 2029. Essential infrastructure such as schools, housing for married civil servants, malls and other places for entertainment are still missing.

“Silent Sufferer”

A school is under construction near Nusantara. Infrastructure is still missing in the area.

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And not everyone is happy with the development.

Local environmental groups like Walhi say construction has already led to deforestation of mangrove forests around Balikpapan Bay.

“The biggest impact will be on what we call the silent victims – the mangrove ecosystem and then the proboscis monkeys and Owa Kalimantan,” says Fathur Rozikin Fen, executive director of Walhi East Kalimantan. Owa Kalimantan is an endangered animal that lives in the forests of East Kalimantan province.

A newly constructed dam and water treatment plant provide clean water for most of Nusantara.

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“It is hard to believe in this dream that the creation will be a smart city, forest city and green city,” says Fathur. “It is hard to believe that (Nusantara) will have an inclusive future.”

Outside the city, newly constructed dams and water treatment plants provide much of the city with filtered drinking water – a luxury not found in other parts of Indonesia.

But the plant was built on the edge of Sepaku Lama village, where many indigenous people of the Balik tribe have lived for generations.

Siamsia, 51, stands in the courtyard of her home in Sepaku Lama village, where she grows rice, bananas, beans and many other crops. His family has lived in this area for generations.

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Part of the dam and flood mitigation, a concrete wall built along the Sepaku River prevents the village from using the water for bathing and washing clothes as before. Alfian Brahmin son, pump operator at the treatment plant, says the city provides free water to the village, but residents Are responsible for getting water pipes installed in their homes. Many families choose to use rainwater or purchase water tanks that are delivered to their homes.

Fifty-one-year-old Syamsia and her husband Pandi, who are both male and have only one name like many Indonesians, live in a concrete-block house on their farm in the village of Sepaku Lama. Here, they have planted cassava, bananas, green beans, fruit trees and many other crops. For them, this land is more than livelihood – it is their family history.

The village cemetery is located on the same land as the new dam and water treatment plant.

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Both Siamsiya’s parents and grandparents are buried in the village cemetery.

Nearby, a rhinoceros-shaped rock in the river – a sacred site to a people called Balik batu badok – Now located inside the water treatment complex, cut off from the community.

A big promise and a big question

Nusantara’s plan covers approximately 1,000 square miles, almost three times the size of New York City. As construction expands, surrounding villages including Syamsia and Pandi will eventually be absorbed. City officials have already told them they will eventually have to sell their land for the project.

Pandi, 53, shares documents that show the struggle local people faced with the construction of the new capital on their land.

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But Saiyamsia’s husband Pandi, 53, says he is not interested in selling. “Maybe the government can compensate me for the plants or the house. But my memories, my history, can the government replace that?” He says. He and his wife also say that if they have to go somewhere else, they have no place to go.

“They already have a capital. Why build a new city? Why don’t they leave us here in peace?” Pandi says.

Officials hope moving the capital will provide some relief from the growing pains of Jakarta, now the world’s most populous city with more than 40 million people. But while Indonesia grapples with Jakarta’s challenges, Nusantara is expected to be home to just 2 million people by 2045.

For now, Nusantara remains a huge promise and a huge question.

A view of a nearby residential building shows construction around the center of Nusantara.

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