The Diplomat
Spain is interested in participating in the development of Nusantara, the new capital of Indonesia, which will replace Jakarta, and which is expected to be inhabited by August 2024.
Recently, the heads of IKN, the entity in charge of coordinating the construction of the new capital, met with the Spanish ambassador, Francisco Aguilera, and with the commercial counsellor, José Ángel Molero González, who expressed the interest of our country in Spanish companies being able to access some of the development projects of Nusantara.
The ambassador, in addition to recalling that Spain, centuries ago, already changed its capital, underlined the experience that Spanish companies have in construction and infrastructure, and in renewable energies.
Spain is not the only country that has shown its desire to be present in the construction of the new capital, which will be located in East Kalimantan, which is the Indonesian name for the island of Borneo, in a more central area of Indonesia. According to the head of the IKN Authority, Bambang Susantono, in addition to Spain, countries such as Finland, Saudi Arabia and South Korea want to participate in the development of Nusantara.
The Indonesian government has budgeted 28.4 billion dollars for the construction of Nusantara, where, in addition to institutions and official buildings, it intends to concentrate cutting-edge industries such as the pharmaceutical, medical and technological sectors, as well as all those that promote sustainable growth.
Susantono said that Indonesia welcomes all countries that want to participate in the development of the new capital, which will replace Jakarta, on the island of Java, where 10 million people currently live and which is reportedly sinking by 25 centimetres every year due to overexploitation of its aquifers.
The IKN Authority has set a target for Nusantara (archipelago) to become a carbon neutral city by 2045, based on the concept of a sustainable forest city. Buildings will occupy only 25% of the area of the new capital city, while the remaining 75% will be kept as green space. Sixty-five per cent of this green area will be covered by tropical forests, which will act as carbon sinks.
