Indonesia's new capital named Nusantara
(VOVWORLD) - The new capital of Indonesia in East Kalimantan has been named Nusantara, National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa said during a meeting with the working committee for the new capital city bill yesterday at the Parliament. He said President Joko Widodo confirmed the name last Friday.
 Design of the new Nusantara capital of Indonesia (Photo: Liputan 6) |
The new capital city is one of Joko Widodo's priority infrastructure development projects in Indonesia as the catalyst for unlocking overall economic potential, promoting growth, creating jobs and reducing poverty.
The minister said Nusantara was an old Javanese term, which literally means "outer islands". The entire project costs 35 billion USD. Actual physical construction could start this year awaiting the capital city bill approval by the parliament.
Due to COVID-19 the construction of the new capital will be divided into many phases, firstly from 2022 to 2045. Covering an area of 256,000 ha, the new capital will be
President Widodo has told the Jakarta Post that Indonesia’s new capital will be modelled on Silicon Valley, a ‘smart metropolis’ and designed to be a melting pot of technological innovations that can sustain the country for the next century and beyond.