“The new capital has a central function, and is a symbol of state identity, and a new center of economic attraction as well,” Indonesia’s Planning Minister Suharso Munwarva told parliament after the bill was passed.
The New Capital Bill, which provides a legal framework for President Joko Widodo’s massive $32 billion project, stipulates how the development and management of the capital will be financed.
On Monday, the minister announced that the new capital would be called “Nusantara”, which is the name of the remote Indonesian archipelago in Javanese, and was chosen by the president, according to “Reuters”.
Several Indonesian presidents have stalled in implementing plans to relocate the government from Jakarta, which has a population of ten million and suffers from chronic congestion, floods and air pollution, knowing that President Widodo first announced the plan in 2019, but the progress has been delayed due to the Corona pandemic.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, sees the new capital as a “premium center” for low carbon that would support the pharmaceutical, health and technology sectors, and promote sustainable growth outside Java.
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