VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) believes that once construction of the IKN Nusantara airport and Balikpapan-IKN Nusantara toll road is completed, then investors will be more drawn to invest in the new capital city.

"These two infrastructures will be the key (to attract investment)," he stated at the groundbreaking of Nusantara Hotel in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, Thursday.

The Balikpapan-IKN Nusantara toll road will enter the construction phase. The president targets the construction to be completed in July 2024. The toll road will cut travel time from Balikpapan to IKN Nusantara to 30 minutes, as compared to currently around 1.5 to two hours.

"The minister of public works and public housing informed that the toll road would soon enter its construction phase. It will be completed in July next year," Jokowi remarked.

He also noted that construction of the IKN Nusantara airport will begin soon. The travel time between the airport to the IKN Nusantara city center is only 15 minutes.

"It will be completed in July or early August 2024," he remarked.

According to the president, 30 investors from South Korea, 40 investors from Japan, and 120 investors from Singapore had shown interest in IKN. He believes that these investors have carried out careful calculations regarding the economic potential of IKN.

The head of state said IKN is being built on a long-term basis, with a projected overall completion in 2045. The IKN funding comes from private cooperation and investment, while the state budget only contributed 20 percent of the total funding needed.

Based on data from the Ministry of Finance, the IKN budget allocation in the 2022-2024 state budget was Rp75.5 trillion. In detail, the realization value in 2022 was Rp5.5 trillion.

Moreover, the 2023 state budget allocation for IKN is Rp29.4 trillion and Rp40.6 trillion for 2024. (antaranews)