Indonesia’s Nusantara faces funding test as private capital takes on bigger role

[JAKARTA] Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara is facing a new test as President Prabowo Subianto scales back its reliance on public funding, raising the question of whether private investors will provide enough capital to turn the fledgling city into a functioning urban centre.

Nusantara was not included among the eight national priority programmes in Prabowo’s proposed 2027 Budget unveiled last week, with future development expected to rely more heavily on private investment.

The project will receive just 6.7 trillion rupiah (US$375 million) from the 2027 proposed state Budget, roughly about 0.2 per cent of the government’s total planned spending of 4,097 trillion rupiah.