Indonesia's Delayed New Capital Risks Becoming White Elephant

Jokowi's Legacy Project Battling Slashed Budget, Lack of Interest from Prabowo

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NUSANTARA, Indonesia — A year after its planned inauguration, Indonesia's would-be new capital Nusantara attracts tourists and construction workers, but most of its architecturally arresting presidential palace and freshly built avenues sit silent.

The legacy project of former president Joko Widodo is battling a slashed budget, slowed construction and a deficit of interest from a new leader focused on social mega projects.

That has raised questions about whether the city, carved out of the jungle to replace crowded and rapidly sinking Jakarta, will ever see its promised potential.

"The political will on IKN right now feels muted," said Mr Dedi Dinarto, a senior associate at public policy advisory firm Global Counsel, referring to the new capital's official name: Ibu Kota Nusantara.

President Prabowo Subianto "is clearly putting his chips on welfare instead".

Just more than 1,000 city authority employees live in Nusantara, along with a few hundred more ministry workers as well as service and medical staff.

That is far short of Jakarta's 12 million residents, and the new city's goal of two million inhabitants by 2045.

Mr Prabowo mentioned IKN just once in his first state of the nation speech, and has slashed funding for the project.

Official budgets show a cut from 43.4 trillion rupiah (S$3.4 billion) in 2024 to just 6.3 trillion rupiah in 2026. The authority had requested more than 21 trillion rupiah for 2026's budget.