Indonesia puts relocation of capital city on hold to tackle pandemic
Indonesia has put on a 33 billion USD project, initiated by President Joko Widodo, to relocate the capital city to the island of Borneo as it grapples to rein in the COVID-19pandemic.
Traffic jam occurs frequently on major routes in Jakarta (Photo: VNA)
Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesiahas put on a 33 billion USD project, initiated by President Joko Widodo, torelocate the capital city to the island of Borneo as it grapples to rein in theCOVID-19pandemic.
Indonesian planning minister SuharsoMonoarfa said the government isputting as its number one priority the recovery of the economy and overcomingthe pandemic.
Making a frank admission of the obstacles to the project, he saidgroundbreaking could be delayed until 2022 or 2023, as the government focusesefforts on finding, and then distributing a COVID-19 vaccine to the populationof nearly 270 million.
Construction of a state palace and otherbuildings was initially set to start by 2021, along with upgrades of airports,sea ports and the building of access roads in the forested area earmarked fortransformation into a new smart city. Civil servants were due to start movingby 2024.
SoftBank’s chief executive Masayoshi Son, formerBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh MohammedBin Zayed al Nahyan have been enlisted as advisers for the project.
Normally, such a big project should bring considerable positive ripple effectsfor the economy, but disbursing the government’s coronavirus stimulus responseappeared more urgent now, said Wellian Wiranto, an economist at OCBC Bank.
At present, Indonesia could not afford to move its capital, as the pandemic’sstrain on the national budget leads to a ballooning fiscal deficit, anothereconomist said.
The downturn could last longer than thegovernment anticipates, running until the second half of 2021, said Enny SriHartati of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance./.
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Traffic jam occurs frequently on major routes in Jakarta (Photo: VNA) 
