Nusantara (planned city)

Nusantara (planned city)
Nusantara, officially known as the Capital City of Nusantara (IKN), is the future capital of Indonesia, scheduled to be inaugurated on 17 August 2024, coinciding with Indonesian Independence Day. Nusantara will replace Jakarta as the national capital, a position the latter city has held since the country's independence in 1945.
The site is situated on the east coast of the island of Borneo, specifically in the province of East Kalimantan. The city is expected to encompass an area of , surrounded by hilly landscapes, a forest, and a natural bay.
Construction began in July 2022, starting with land clearing and the construction of access roads. The initial phase, known as the 'Government Central Area zone', will comprise government offices, schools, and hospitals.
The project is estimated to be at Rp 523 trillion ($35 billion USD) and will be finished in 5 phases, with phase 1 started in August 2022. Almost 150,000-200,000 workers from around Indonesia participated in this project with an additional workforce around the Nusantara region to ensure participation of local workers. The project will be fully finished in 2045 with Phase 5 being the last.
Etymology
The word nusantara is derived from an Old Javanese compound of nūsa + antara, which can be roughly translated as 'the outer islands' (from Java island's perspective). This term is taken from Gajah Mada's oath and may be interpreted as a translation of Dvīpāntara, an older Sanskrit term coined by Kertanegara, which carries roughly the same meaning.
Nusantara was chosen as the official name for the new capital city of Indonesia to embody the national geopolitical vision known as (or 'Vision of the Indonesian archipelago'). It also reflects the country's status as an archipelagic state. According to local Kutai oral tradition recorded in the historical manuscript Salasilah Kutai, the area was referred to as Nusentara before it was named Kutai in the 13th century.
History
In April 2017 the Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration reawakened a dormant motion to move the country's capital from Jakarta, making a commitment to completely assess prospective alternative sites for Indonesia's new capital by the end of that year.
According to an official from the Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia (Bappenas), the government was determined to move the Indonesian capital out of Java, an idea that had been intermittently floated since the Sukarno administration, which had considered Palangka Raya in Central Kalimantan. Shortly after the plan was announced, Jokowi visited two alternative locations in Kalimantan, Bukit Soeharto in East Kalimantan, and the Triangle Area near Palangka Raya. In April 2019, a 10-year plan to transfer all government offices to a new capital city was announced.
The National Development Planning Ministry recommended the three provinces of South, Central, and East Kalimantan which Jokowi visited, given that each met the requirements for a new capital—including being relatively free from earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, as well as allowing for a maritime port.
On 23 August 2019, Jokowi formally ratified the plan, as part of a strategy to reduce developmental inequality between Java and other islands in the Indonesian archipelago and to reduce Jakarta's burden as Indonesia's primary hub.
The National Development Planning Ministry estimated the relocation cost to be and that the government intended to cover 19% of the cost, the remainder coming mainly from public-private partnerships and direct investment by both state-owned enterprises and the private sector.
At the same time, will be allocated to saving Jakarta from sinking in the next decade, which has also been widely reported as the fundamental underlying cause for the relocation of the capital.
In early September 2021, the bill for capital relocation was completed. On 29 September 2021, the Jokowi administration submitted an omnibus bill for the capital relocation to the House of Representatives (the lower house of Indonesian legislature). Amongst many items prescribed in the bill, it contained the plan for the formation of a Capital City Authority, a special agency responsible for the new capital and answering to the President. The new agency was granted ministry-like qualities in that the office holder would be appointed by the President, but with special governing capabilities akin to a provincial governor. It will also regulate how the Capital Authority will manage its funding, taxation, retribution, and assets.
Due to the plan being submitted in the middle of Jokowi's second term as president, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) put forward suggestion for a constitutional amendment to re-establish MPR's ability to enact Principals of State Policies, similar to the New Order's MPR's State Policies Outline. This was to provide security and sustainability to the project and ensure its continuation after Jokowi was no longer in the presidency. Based on the results of the KedaiKOPI Survey Institute survey in August 2019, 95.7% of respondents from Jakarta expressed their rejection of the plan to move the capital city to East Kalimantan. On 17 January 2022, during a Special Committee Meeting, Minister of National Development Planning Suharso Monoarfa said the new nation's capital would be named Nusantara.
Following the inauguration of Bambang Susantono as chairman of the Authority, provinces across the country ceremonially send piece of soil and water from historically or culturally significant sites in their respective province to be part of the new capital's cornerstone and jug for its groundbreaking. Central Kalimantan brought pieces of soil from a hill where Tjilik Riwut, a national hero from the province and respected Dayak figure, was said to be meditating. East Kalimantan brought water and soil from Kutai Lama, where the historical Kutai Kartanegara kingdom was found. North Maluku brought a combination of soil and water from four main historical sultanates in Maluku, otherwise known as Maluku Kie Raha, which are Jailolo, Ternate, Tidore, and Bacan. East Nusa Tenggara province brought soil from seven regencies in the province, while Bengkulu brought soil from the location where Sukarno was exiled. South Kalimantan brought water and soil from former residences of respected ulemas in the province, Zainal Ilmi and Syekh Muhammad Al-Banjari. Southeast Sulawesi presented soil and water from the site of the historical Sultanate of Buton in Baubau. East Java also did a similar thing from sites of the former Majapahit Empire.
Design and construction
The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing organized a capital city design contest in late 2019. The winner, ('Forest Archipelagic Country') by Urban+ was officially announced on 23 December 2019. The government undertook to collaborate on the design of the winning team with that of the second- and third-placed teams, as well as international designers, to sharpen the final design process up to 2020. Designers from at least three countries, namely China, Japan, and the United States, had offered to be involved in the design. The name, which had been suggested about three months earlier, is aligned with the winner's main concept.
The city is designed for sustainability and protecting its surrounding Kalimantan forests, targeting 80% of mobility to be supported by public transport, cycling, or walking and drawing all of its energy from renewable sources and allocating 10% of its area to food production.
Initially, in July 2022, 100,000 workers from across Indonesia were deployed to the Nusantara site. However, this decision drew criticism from local organizations for not adequately involving local workers. In response to these concerns, President Joko Widodo instructed the Nusantara Capital City Authority to increase the workforce to between 150,000 and 200,000 to ensure the participation of local workers in the development of Nusantara.
Construction was delayed until after the COVID-19 vaccination campaign completed in March 2022.
In March 2022, the Ministry again organized a design contest on four structures, namely the vice-presidential palace, the legislatures' office complex, the judiciary's office complex, and a complex set for public worship next to Lake Pancasila.
Phases
The first phase in 2022 – 2024 focuses on development of basic infrastructure, starting from the supply of drinking water, electricity to waste management. Phase II in 2025-2029, namely the development of the core area. Such as public transportation facilities both primary and secondary. Phase III development in 2030-2034 includes the development of industrial areas and other sectors. While phases IV and V will be carried out in 2035-2039 and 2040-2045 respectively. "In the final stages, IKN will achieve net zero-carbon emissions and one hundred percent renewable energy, sustainable industrial development, and become the world's leading city in terms of competitiveness," said the Head of the IKN Nusantara Infrastructure Development Implementation Task Force Danis Sumadilaga.
Geography
Nusantara is located on the east coast of Borneo, the world's third largest island. The city shares a land border with the province of East Kalimantan and has a coastal line that stretches eastward to the Makassar Strait and southward to Balikpapan Bay. The city boasts a hilly landscape and was previously an industrial forest, with its concession owned by Sukanto Tanoto.
Zoning
Nusantara encompasses an area of , with designated as the government central area (Kawasan Inti Pusat Pemerintahan), as the capital region, and the remainder as the extended capital region. The Nusantara metropolitan area will include the surrounding regencies and cities of East Kalimantan, such as Balikpapan and Samarinda.
Government
Nusantara is managed by an agency known as the Nusantara Capital City Authority. Its structure differs from that of other cities in Indonesia, which are considered autonomous, self-governing entities separate from the central government. In contrast, the Capital City Authority is an agency directly accountable to the central government. It operates at the ministerial level and its chairman is a cabinet-level official. Unlike governors, mayors, and regents, who are popularly elected in regional elections, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Authority are appointed by the President.
Since 10 March 2022, the authority has been under the leadership of Chairman Bambang Susantono and Vice Chairman Dhony Rahajoe.
The Capital City Authority announced that Nusantara would have special form of local governance and the administrative division of Nusantara would be different from other regions in Indonesia.
Transportation
To achieve the goal of having 80% of transportation supported by non-private means, a comprehensive public transportation network is planned for the new capital. The city's development focuses on creating dense, walkable areas and will feature a citywide network of cycling paths, two rail lines for a metro system, a bus rapid transit system, and autonomous minibuses as feeder services.
An automated guideway transit system will connect the new capital to the Balikpapan highway. Additionally, a new intercity and regional rail system will be constructed to link the new capital with neighboring cities such as Samarinda (including Samarinda International Airport) and Balikpapan, forming part of the broader Trans Kalimantan Railway network that will connect the entire Indonesian side of Borneo Island with rail service.
A planned toll road spanning 47 km (29 mi) will be built to connect the government central area with the VVIP airport and Balikpapan. Nusantara will also be served by the nearby Aji Pangeran Tumenggung Pranoto Airport located at Samarinda, the neighbouring city of the new capital, as well as Balikpapan's Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan Airport. To support the two airports serving Nusantara, a new VVIP airport will also be built in Penajam.
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
Nusantara is twinned with:
Astana, Kazakhstan (2023)
See also
Capital of Indonesia — Historical capital cities of Indonesia
Nusantara (archipelago) – Indonesian name of Maritime Southeast Asia
Wawasan Nusantara — National vision of Indonesia
List of purpose-built national capitals
Notes
References
External links
Government of Indonesia
2024 beginnings
Politics of Indonesia
Nusantara
Capital districts and territories
Provinces of Indonesia
Capitals in Asia
Borneo