Jakarta. Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono has claimed that the construction of primary infrastructures like roads, water supplies, electricity lines, and main government buildings will be completed before Independence Day next year.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with news broadcaster BTV recently, Basuki said construction works are now focusing on a toll road linking Nusantara Capital City and East Kalimantan’s biggest city Balikpapan.

”First we need to ensure the connection between Balikpapan and Nusantara by building the toll road. We want to make it possible to reach the IKN from Balikpapan in around 40 minutes,” Basuki said, using the Indonesian acronym for the new capital.

Nusantara is located about 50 kilometers south of Balikpapan.

With the current pace, the primary infrastructure will be ready to receive the first batch of people and equipment relocation from Jakarta before August 17 next year, he said.

In total, Basuki’s team is working on 76 construction projects, including four buildings for coordinating ministries that each will be temporarily used by related ministries until other offices are built.

“They will become sharing offices of ministries under the commanding ministers,” Basuki said.

In addition, the Public Works Ministry is also tasked with building 36 houses for the first cabinet members to be stationed in the new capital once the relocation begins and 47 high-rise apartments for civil servants and police members starting this July.

“I want to become the first minister to move there,” Basuki told BTV’s Apreyvita Wulansari.

While the current construction works are being handled by the ministry, the government is encouraging the private sector to take part in providing supporting infrastructure, Basuki added.

“Our job is to build basic infrastructure like water supply systems, power generators, office buildings, flood control systems, and energy supplies using the funding from the state budget. The government and the private sector can jointly build universities, schools, and hospitals,” he said.