New Capital Nusantara Project Lacks Investment; House Calls for Evaluation

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Member of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission V, Suryadi Jaya Purnama, urged the government to evaluate the new capital city of Nusantara (IKN) project in East Kalimantan as it has not yet drawn investment. He assessed that investors are reluctant to put funds because of several issues.

"The main problem is not the change of officials, but the policies that have been wrong from the beginning,” Suryadi said in a written statement on Friday, June 14.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician was referring to the findings of the Financial Audit Agency (BPK) that the land management rights, or HPL, covering an area of 2,086 hectares have not been issued.

According to him, the land issue remains unclear. Acting Head of the IKN Authority Basuki Hadimuljono said that the solution using the Social Impact Management (PSDK) Plus program requires a Presidential Regulation, while Acting Deputy Head of the IKN Authority Raja Juli Antoni said otherwise. “This shows the government's uncertainty in implementing its policies,” he said.

He also noted that the IKN project is a public infrastructure project. Meanwhile, the new capital still has no people. Even if there will be people residing in the area, the population is estimated to be less than 5 million. 

“Based on the calculation, an investment will only be profitable if there are at least 5 million residents in 10 years,” Suryadi said.

On the other hand, he went on, investors from developed countries have environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards that do not require deforestation and negative social impacts on local communities.

Suryadi concluded that these issues are increasingly burdening the IKN Authority to meet the government's goal of attracting investment. To date, the incoming investment has only been limited to government cooperation with business entities, and the State Budget spent on the Nusantara project has reached Rp75.4 trillion.

RIRI RAHAYU

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