April 4, 2024
JAKARTA – President-elect Prabowo Subianto will be sworn into office in October in what is to then be the national capital city of Nusantara, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The government is also preparing to host the Independence Day event on Aug. 17 in the new city currently under construction in East Kalimantan.
“If the 79th Independence Day [ceremony] will be held [in Nusantara], maybe the State of the Union address will still take place in Jakarta,” he said, as reported by DetikFinance.
Prabowo won 58.58 percent of the vote in the presidential election held in February, according to the final tally announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on March 20, besting rivals Anies Baswedan, the former Jakarta governor, and Ganjar Pranowo, the former Central Java governor.
The incumbent defense minister won by 33.66 percentage points more than the 40.97 million votes cast for Anies and the 27.04 million votes cast for Ganjar.
Silvia Halim, undersecretary of facilities and infrastructure at the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority, said in a statement on March 6 last year that work on the Nusantara Central Government Region (KIPP) was focused on the 6,600-hectare area where the presidential palace, presidential office, ministerial offices and civil servant housing are to be located.
As of March 2024, construction progress on the KIPP had reached 74 percent, according to the State Secretariate.
“Progress on the Presidential Palace and ceremonial grounds’ stands at around 60 percent, and the target is that by June 2024, the palace building, ceremonial grounds and podium will be 100 percent functional,” Danis Sumadilaga, chairman of the task force for the implementation of Nusantara infrastructure development, said in Jakarta on March 14, as quoted by DetikFinance.
“God willing, it will be able to support the Independence Day festivities on Aug. 17 and is slated to accommodate 8,700 people.”
The defense minister visited Nusantara on March 18 to check on the spatial layout and preparation for the Independence Day ceremony, including the construction progress of the State Palace, according to a statement issued by the Defense Ministry.
Prabowo also visited the Construction Workers’ Residence (HPK), where he held a joint meeting with the IKN Authority, the North Penajam Paser regency government and the Public Works and Housing Ministry.
The meeting discussed progress in buildings and infrastructure, as well as the defense and security of the new city.
The IKN Authority aims to secure a Rp 100 trillion (US$6.28 billion) investment this year, or 21.5 percent of the total budget required for the development of the new capital city, which amounts to Rp 466 trillion.
IKN Authority head Bambang Susantono revealed that Rp 47.5 trillion in investment had come in since 2023, which comprised of Rp 35.9 trillion from the private sector and Rp 11.6 trillion from the public sector.
“This includes the groundbreaking, which has been carried out,” Bambang said in Jakarta on Jan. 26.