February 23, 2023
JAKARTA – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has expressed his optimism that Jakarta can continue playing its role as a business and tourism center after the move to relocate the country’s political capital to East Kalimantan is completed.
Speaking during the opening of a Muhammadiyah Youth congress in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Wednesday, the President said that the government would continue working to improve the traffic situation in Jakarta to allow for business and tourism to thrive.
“Jakarta is already too crowded, very congested […] but we will continue to improve the situation so that it can be a city of business, economic activities and tourism, while Nusantara can become the country’s capital,” Jokowi said, referring to the name of the country’s new capital, which will straddle North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kertanegara regencies in East Kalimantan.
President Jokowi has said that he expects that basic infrastructure projects for the new capital to be finished very soon to allow for the celebration of Independence Day on Aug. 17, 2024 to be held in the new capital.
In the latter part of his speech, Jokowi said that it would take between 15 and 20 years for the complete relocation of the capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara.
“This is not a one- or two-year project. God willing this can be done in between 15 and 20 years, but someone has to start doing it,” Jokowi said.