Indonesia’s new capital city, known as Nusantara (Ibu Kota Nusantara, or IKN), began construction in 2022 and is slated for completion in 2045 at a projected cost of about USD35 billion.
Frantic building to accommodate initial ministerial offices and court buildings along with housing and infrastructural support was under way to meet the 17 August deadline for the current president to formally inaugurate the capital on independence day from his presidential residence there.
Reports cited President Joko Widodo was working from a presidential office in the city ahead of the announcement and had taken up residence at Garuda Presidential Palace.
Minister of Transport Budi Karya Sumadi was reported to be the first minister to work in Nusantara from his ministerial residence, with 11 July as his start date.
The independence day celebration, however, fell short of inaugurating Nusantara as the country’s new capital, and there is no definitive on when the official announcement will occur.
Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, who takes presidential office in October, along with cabinet ministers, military leaders and guests attended an independence day state ceremony in the unfinished capital, albeit one that curtailed numbers from a reported 8,000 guests to about 1,300 due to inadequate logistics.
The massive project has seen Chinese interest in initial residential building projects, but little of the anticipated foreign interest, a big concern considering the government hopes foreign investment will cover much of the touted cost of building the city.
Asia Business Law Journal asked law firms about whether they had discussed a move to the new city at some point, and what their expectations were for the new capital.
Read the various lawyers thoughts at
https://law.asia/indonesian-law-firms-nusantara-capital-move/
