Indonesia marked the 79th anniversary of its independence on Saturday with a ceremony in its unfinished future capital, Nusantara, which was planned to relieve Jakarta of the burden but construction is running behind schedule.
Construction cranes were visible as hundreds of government officials and guests dressed in traditional Indonesian tribal dress gathered on a grassy plaza at the government building in the heart of Nusantara city.
Landslide at illegal gold mine in Indonesia kills 11, dozens missing
President Joko Widodo and his cabinet members attended the Independence Day ceremony at the new presidential palace, built in the shape of Garuda, a mythical eagle-winged guardian deity.
The celebrations were initially planned to mark the opening of Nusantara as the country’s new capital, but construction delays mean it is unclear when the move will take place.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (center) and Defense Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto (second from left) salute during a ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence at the new presidential palace in Nusantara, the future capital under construction on Borneo island, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahmad Ibrahim)
President Joko Widodo said last week that he would invite 8,000 guests, but that number was later reduced to 1,300 as the proper infrastructure was not yet in place.
The celebrations at the New National Palace on Borneo were held simultaneously with those at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta and were attended by Vice President Ma’ruf Amin.
President Joko Widodo began working from the new presidential palace in Nusantara in late July and held his first cabinet meeting there on Tuesday.
More than 5,000 personnel from Indonesia’s police and military took part in the ceremony, with 76 honorary flag-bearers marching under the red and white national flag.
Jakarta has a population of about 10 million within the city limits and three times that number in the greater capital, but it suffers from regular flooding and severely congested roads, with economic losses due to congestion estimated at $4.5 billion a year.
The former capital on Java’s northwest coast has badly polluted air and groundwater and is said to be the fastest sinking city in the world. It is estimated that a third of the city could be submerged by 2050 due to uncontrolled groundwater pumping and the rising Java Sea caused by climate change.
Construction on the new capital will begin in mid-2022 and will cover an area of about 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 square miles) carved out of the jungle on Borneo. Officials say the new capital will be a futuristic green city rich in forests and parks, running on renewable energy sources and adopting smart waste management.
But the project has been criticised by environmentalists and indigenous communities who say it will degrade the environment, further reduce the habitat of endangered animals such as orangutans, and displace indigenous people who depend on the land for their livelihoods.
Since construction began, seven groundbreaking ceremonies have been held for the construction of government and public buildings, hotels, banks and schools.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Indonesia, with a population of about 275 million, is Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Most of the investors in the new capital are Indonesian companies. The government is contributing 20 percent of the $33 billion budget, with the rest relying heavily on private investment.
To lure investors, President Widodo recently offered incentives for the new capital, including land tenure for up to 190 years and generous tax breaks. After 10 years in power, he is due to step down in October.
