Indonesia’s president is rushing to reassure investors and bureaucrats about his new $32 billion capital in the malaria-prone region of Borneo, after the resignation of two officials who oversaw the plan raised new doubts about its future.
President Joko Widodo’s announcement next month that he will work from an office in Nusantara, a massive construction site more than 1,200 kilometers from the current capital Jakarta, is unlikely to allay fears about his legacy project, analysts say.
“Investor confidence has fallen, I think. They were already in doubt and in a wait-and-see attitude, partly because of the unclear land status, partly because of a lack of transparency in the administration of the new capital,” Yanuar said. Nugroho, the president’s former deputy chief of staff.
