Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), on Saturday, stated that he would invite Japan to invest capital in the development of the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara during his scheduled meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.The bilateral meeting will take place in Tokyo, on Saturday, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Japan Summit that will be held on December 16-18.
“Yes (will discuss IKN). Nusantara will always be discussed during meetings with other countries,” Jokowi remarked at a press conference before departing for Japan at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, as monitored online.
The president remarked that at the meeting, he would encourage the Japanese Government and business players to invest their capital in various construction projects in Indonesia’s future capital city, which is currently being developed in East Kalimantan Province.
He then noted that Japan has been an important strategic partner, both to Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Earlier, on Friday (December 15), the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) stated that it had received a total of 328 investment letters of intent, with 25 of them, including investment in a food estate project, coming from Japan.
Meanwhile, in November this year, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono noted that a Japanese company Sumitomo Group was coordinating with Indonesian company Salim Group to study the food estate investment opportunity.
land of 43 thousand hectares in Central Kalimantan has been prepared for the food estate project, he revealed.
“The food estate is projected to be a food supplier for IKN, considering that its location is closer to the new capital city than Java is,” he noted.
The minister also revealed that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was exploring opportunities to participate in the development of a railway line from Balikpapan to IKN as well as in the IKN area itself.
However, he noted that the agency had not confirmed its plan to conduct a feasibility study on the railway project.
Hadimuljono reiterated the importance of investment from private actors, including those from abroad, while noting that only 20-30 percent of the budget required for IKN development is allocated from the State Budget (APBN).
The rest of the budget needed is expected to be covered by funds collected through the public-private partnership scheme, he stated.
Source: Antara News Agency