Indonesian President breaks ground for airport in planned $44b capital
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Indonesian President Joko Widodo (right) also inspected construction work on a 57km toll road link to the coal hub of Balikpapan.
PHOTO: JOKO WIDODO/FACEBOOK
JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo broke ground on Wednesday for construction of several projects, ranging from an airport, toll-road and hospital, to a hotel in a planned new capital city Nusantara.
Mr Widodo’s US$32 billion (S$43.86 billion) flagship project to move the seat of government out of the congested city of Jakarta has struggled to attract private investment, with the 2024 budget allocating 40.6 trillion rupiah ($3.5 billion) for it.
Mr Widodo, also popularly known as Jokowi, will launch 10 projects worth 12.5 trillion rupiah during his visit this week to Nusantara, which Indonesia is building from scratch amid the jungles of Borneo island.
The 347ha airport is expected to be fully operational by December 2024, the president said, at a total cost of 4.2 trillion rupiah.
“I believe the construction of this airport will boost competitiveness and economic growth, as well as accelerate the development of the new capital,” Mr Widodo said at the ground-breaking event.
The government targets the second half of 2024 for an international hospital, built by Indonesian hospital chain Mayapada, to become operational.
Mr Widodo also inspected construction work on a 57km toll road link to the coal hub of Balikpapan, which he expected could be used from June 2024r to cut travel time.
“After construction of the toll road is completed, we only need around 50 minutes,” he said, compared with a journey of two hours earlier.
Indonesian real estate developer Pakuwon Jati is building a hotel, an apartment block, and a mall.
A consortium of Indonesian companies, such as energy firms Adaro and Barito Pacific, conglomerate Astra International and property firm Agung Sedayu Group, have invested about 20 trillion rupiah in Nusantara.
Apart from a hotel, which the consortium began construction on in September, it is unclear what other projects the investment will fund.
The President said he would break ground on nine projects in December, but gave no details. REUTERS
