Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (Photo: Bernama) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia on December 20 started construction of the third phase of the new capital project (IKN) Nusantara in East Kalimantan province on the Borneo island.
In his remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Central General Hospital, President Joko Widodo said that this is the fourth hospital built in Nusantara in the past three months. He expressed his hope that once all the hospitals become operational, people will not have to go overseas to Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and the US for treatment.
The head of the Indonesian Government also set a goal of completing and putting into use these four hospitals by mid-2024, prior to the 79th anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence Day on August 17 next year.
Earlier, Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN) said that the groundbreaking ceremony for the third phase of the 30 billion USD project will be held on December 20-21 in three areas namely the green area, area of government agencies and ecological areas.
According to OIKN spokesman Troy Pantouw, the third phase includes afforestation projects, electric transportation systems, hotels, hospitals, and many other projects, with a total cost of about 645 million USD.
Indonesian President Widodo first announced the plan to relocate the capital from Java, the country’s most populated island, in April 2019.
Months later, Widodo announced the districts of Penajam Paser and Kutai Kertanegara in East Kalimantan province to be the site of the new capital city.
With an area of about 127,000 sq.km, East Kalimantan is home to more than 3.7 million people. The new capital will serve as the centre of government, while Jakarta, the current capital city, which is home to more than 10 million people, will remain the business and economic hub of Indonesia./.
