Nusantara (city)

Nusantara, officially Nusantara Capital City (, abbreviated IKN), will be the capital city of Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is founded on partial areas of East Kalimantan regencies of Kutai Kartanegara and Penajam North Paser. Nusantara is planned to be a special capital region at the provincial level, replacing Jakarta to save the city from overpopulation and land sinking. Nusantara is adjacent to the port city of Balikpapan, which serves as the main gateway to the new capital.

After being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, construction of the city began in 2022, starting with land clearing and creating access roads. The project is estimated to be worth (US$35 billion) and will be fully finished in five phases until 2045, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Indonesia. Phase 1, known as the "Main Governmental Area" zone, started in August 2022. Around 150,000 to 200,000 workers from around Indonesia participated in this project with an additional workforce around the Nusantara region to ensure the participation of local workers.

By the end of Joko Widodo's presidency, many buildings had been completed such as the State Palace, ministry offices, residential buildings, monuments and parks, as well as projects outside government budget such as hotels, hospitals, and PSSI training center. On 17 August 2024, Indonesia officially celebrated its Independence Day for the first time in Nusantara. Nusantara has attracted tourism, with daily visitors ranging between 3,000 and 5,000. The project continued during the presidency of Prabowo Subianto, who has allocated Rp 48.8 trillion (US$2.98 billion) for Phase 2 and has decided to include Nusantara as one of Indonesia's 2025–2029 National Strategic Projects. The city has an area of and a population of approximately 490,000 people.

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

Background

The relocation of Indonesia's capital from Jakarta has been proposed since the administration of the first president Sukarno, with Palangka Raya being planned as the future capital when he inaugurated the city in 1957. The relocation proposal kept being discussed for decades until the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who supported the idea to create a new political and administrative centre of Indonesia due to Jakarta's environmental and overpopulation problems.

In April 2017, the 7th president Joko Widodo ordered the Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia (Bappenas) to assess prospective alternative sites for new capital outside of Java. The plan was 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.

In April 2019, a 10-year plan to transfer all government offices to a new capital city was announced. In August 2019, Widodo visited two alternative locations in Kalimantan, Bukit Soeharto in East Kalimantan, and the Triangle Area near Palangka Raya. The National Development Planning Ministry recommended the three provinces of South, Central, and East Kalimantan which Widodo 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.

Planning and design

On 23 August 2019, Widodo formally ratified the plan, Widodo made an announcement about moving the capital city to Kalimantan during his state address in parliament seven days earlier. In early September 2021, the bill for capital relocation was completed. On 29 September 2021, the Widodo 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. It would regulate how the Capital Authority will manage its funding, taxation, retribution, and assets.

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. It was hoped that development of Nusantara would learn lessons from a similar relocation, when Brazil relocated its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília in 1960.

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. Although, critics have voiced many concerns about the impact of Nusantara on the wildlife. 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. In March 2022, the Ministry again organized a design contest for 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.

Construction phase one under Joko Widodo

Following the inauguration of Bambang Susantono as Head of the Authority, all 34 provinces across the country sent symbolic quantities of soil and water from historically or culturally significant sites in their respective provinces to be part of the new capital. 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. Bengkulu brought soil from the location where Sukarno was exiled, while East Java also presented soil from sites of the former Majapahit Empire.

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 was completed in March 2022.

At a conference in Singapore in June 2023, Widodo tried to reassure investors that the project would continue irrespective of who would win the 2024 Indonesian presidential election, and that Nusantara was a "golden opportunity" for investment. By August 2023, the government had only allocated 20% of the total funds needed, and investors were reluctant to make up the shortfall because of political uncertainty and Indonesia's record of underinvestment in infrastructure.

In November 2023, Widodo admitted that not a single foreign investor had put money into Nusantara. Deputy for Funding and Investment at the IKN Authority, Agung Wicaksono, said that there were a number of foreign investors who were partners with domestic investors. These included Swissotel, which is owned by Accor Group, working with Hotel Nusantara and Sembcorp partnering with state-owned electricity company PLN. He also claimed there were 300 letters of intent. As of August 2024, IDR 56.2 trillion of investment had already entered Nusantara. Until the end of his presidency, Widodo had launched a total of eight groundbreaking ceremonies, with an investment value of Rp58,41 trillion from both local and foreign investors.

Transition and continuation under Prabowo Subianto

On 29 July 2024, outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo began working from the new presidential palace in Nusantara, where he planned to spend the final months of his presidency. On 12 August 2024, the first cabinet meeting session was held in Nusantara, marking the beginning of transition of political power from Jakarta to Nusantara.

On 3 June 2024 it was announced that Bambang Susantono, head of the Nusantara Capital City Authority, along with his deputy, Dhony Rahajoe, had resigned. Yusuf Wibisono, Director of the Institute for Demographic and Poverty Studies (Ideas), speculated that this might have been sparked by president-elect Prabowo being less enthusiastic about the project than Widodo was, he claimed Prabowo's statements at the time was the project would still continue, but would no longer be a priority. On 12 August 2024, Prabowo said he will continue the project and if possible he will finish it. He believes it will be long and difficult, but in 3-5 years the city can carry out its function as a capital well.

Nusantara was scheduled to be inaugurated as the capital city on 17 August 2024, coinciding with Indonesian Independence Day. However, the move did not take place. On that day Widodo held his first independence day celebration as President in the city. He initially said that 8,000 people were invited to the ceremony, but the number was later reduced to 1,300 due to concerns over unfinished facilities. The following week, Basuki Hadimuljono announced that Widodo's office may be moving there in September after the completion of IKN airport. Meanwhile, Widodo has said that he does not want to rush the planned transfer of civil servants to IKN in September if they are not ready yet despite the transfer.

President Prabowo Subianto has confirmed his administration's commitment to continuing the development of Nusantara as Indonesia's new capital. Prabowo envisions Nusantara, the capital city in East Kalimantan, as the political capital of Indonesia. In addition to building executive offices, buildings that will represent the other two branches of the Trias Politica—legislative and judicial—must also be completed. Prabowo emphasized this in his address at the final session of the Red White Cabinet Retreat in Magelang on 27 October 2024. Prabowo expressed hope that Nusantara could host the 2028 People's Consultative Assembly session, symbolizing the city’s role as the seat of government.

In February 2025, under the Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 2025, the budget allocated to the Ministry of Public Works for 2025 was reduced from 110.95 trillion to 29.57 trillion rupiahs, as an attempt to streamline state spending. As a result, the budget for the construction of IKN was blocked, and there were concerns of being stalled.

In later development, the head of Nusantara Capital City Authority, Basuki Hadimuljono, together with the Deputy Minister of Public Works, Diana Kusumastuti, stated that as of April 2025 the budget for IKN project was no longer blocked and the second phase of IKN constructed for the year 2025-2028 will be handled by Nusantara Capital City Authority. As of June 2025, investments acquired from various sources by Nusantara Capital City Authority for IKN project has reached around 135.1 trillion rupiahs.

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. Nusantara also has four islands (Benawa Besar, Batupayau, Jawang, and Sabut) located to the north of 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 designated as National Strategic Area (''Kawasan Strategis Nasional, KSN''), with as the Main Governmental Zone (''Kawasan Inti Pusat Pemerintahan, KIPP''), as the Capital City Area (), and the remainder as the Capital City Development Zone (). 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 Head is a cabinet-level official. Unlike governors, mayors, and regents, who are popularly elected in regional elections, the Head and Deputy Head of the Authority are appointed by the President.

From March 2022 to June 2024, the authority was under the leadership of Head Bambang Susantono and Deputy Head Dhony Rahajoe. In June 2024, Bambang Susantono and Dhony Rahajoe resigned from their respective roles ahead of the inauguration of the city. Their motives is said to be personal reasons. Currently the head of the Nusantara Capital City Authority is Basuki Hadimuljono who was also the head of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing of Indonesia. While Bambang Susantono was appointed as the Republic of Indonesia Special Presidential Envoy for the International Cooperation on Nusantara.

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.

Demographics

When the capital development was launched, its population was 153,000 people, living in the existing villages such as Bumi Harapan, Pemaluan, and Sepaku. By 2024, the population reached 488,409 people.

Transport

To achieve the goal of having 80% of transport 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. However, trials of a Chinese-made ART were aborted in November 2024 when the vehicles were determined to be incapable of operating autonomously.

Additionally, a new intercity and regional rail system will be constructed to link the new capital with neighboring cities such as Samarinda 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 Nusantara International 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 Nusantara 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

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{{Borneo

Government of Indonesia
Populated places established in 2024
Politics of Indonesia
Nusantara
States and territories established in 2024
Enclaves and exclaves
Capital districts and territories
Provinces of Indonesia
Populated places in Kalimantan
Proposed populated places