Jakarta. A spokesman recently said that President Prabowo Subianto remained fully committed to Indonesia’s new capital megaproject.

The capital relocation is known to be Prabowo’s predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s legacy. Jokowi wants to build an entirely new city called Nusantara from scratch in East Kalimantan to move the capital away from the congested Jakarta.

In the past, Prabowo had promised to carry on the project, although he had yet to visit the new capital since his inauguration in October. This sparked questions over Prabowo’s commitment to the capital project. Dedek Prayudi, the spokesperson of the Presidential Communications Office, had dismissed such rumors over the weekend.

“Prabowo’s commitment to the new capital Nusantara development is no less than that of Jokowi,” Dedek was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

According to Dedek, construction is picking up pace for the State Mosque in Nusantara, which broke ground early last year. Dedek said: “We are really trying to speed up the mosque’s development. It will be one of the milestones, and we are not slowing down.”

He, however, admitted that the government would gradually allocate less state budget to the capital relocation. Dedek also claimed that investments kept flowing to Nusantara despite the lack of publicity.  

The spokesperson denied that Prabowo had gotten rid of the so-called national strategic projects that Jokowi had established during his presidency. For context, these are infrastructure projects that the government considers strategically important, thus granting them facilities such as easier licensing processes.

Sufmi Dasco Ahmad from Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) said recently that Prabowo planned to evaluate national strategic projects that he deemed to lack actual benefits for the people.

Dedek claimed that Prabowo is currently focusing on achieving his key programs, which would include the budget-heavy free nutritious meal program.

“It’s not that [Mr. Prabowo] will get rid [of the national strategic projects]. It’s just that he does not give it much exposure. Every person has their signature,” Dedek said.

Early estimates show that Indonesia needs $33 billion for capital relocation projects. However, the government only plans on covering 20 percent of the total costs, while relying on the private sector to fund the rest. Capital Authority Chairman Basuki Hadimuljono recently said that Prabowo would start working from Nusantara on Aug. 17, 2028, during which Indonesia would hold its 83rd Independence Day celebrations.

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