KUALA LUMPUR — Nusantara, to be built in the eastern Island of Kalimantan, was chosen as the name of the new capital by Indonesian top authorities, said an official on Monday.
Minister of National Development Planning Suharso Monoarfa told the press, "I just received a direct confirmation from the president (Joko Widodo) on Friday and he said the new capital is named Nusantara."
"It is iconic internationally, easy and it describes the archipelago of the Republic of Indonesia," Monoarfa said, adding, "And I think we all agree with the name Nusantara."
It is yet to be determined whether Nusantara, meaning archipelago in English, will be named as a city or a district. Plans to relocate the capital dated back to 2019 when President Widodo announced that the capital would be moved from Jakarta, which was under the continuous threat of flooding and overcrowding.
The new capital would have cost around $32 billion to be built in 2020; however, the spread of the coronavirus postponed the government's project. The Indonesian parliament is scheduled to vote on the new capital bill this month, allowing for the project to launch this year and complete by 2024.
The new capital city is one of Jokowi'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", it is iconic internationally and widely known by the global community as the Republic of Indonesia.
On Sept 9 last year, Jokowi signed Presidential Regulation No. 85 of 2021 on Government Work Plans for 2022, which comprises eight strategic steps to speed up the transformation of Kalimantan, including the building of the new capital city complete with supporting infrastructure.
Others include accelerating investment realization, optimizing the development of commodities and increasing legal certainty on land ownership by issuing land rights certificates. — Agencies
