TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo proposed to the House an additional budget of Rp60.6 trillion for the upcoming year in a working meeting with Commission V on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. Of this amount, Rp14.87 trillion will be allotted to support the development of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN).

"After this, we will submit it all to the Budget Committee," said Dody after the meeting.

Within the proposed budget for IKN development, Dody will allocate Rp9.9 trillion to the Directorate General of Highways. The funds will be used for road construction within the Government Center Core Area (KIPP), toll road development, and duplication of the Balang Bentang Pendek Bridge.

Furthermore, a budget of Rp4,969.63 trillion will be used for the Directorate General of Spatial Planning for the completion of drinking water supply systems (SPAM), sanitation, government office buildings, Ministry of Defense, the National Police, and BIN offices.

The ministry has been approved a Rp110 trillion budget for 2025, so approval for the additional budget is not guaranteed. 

If the DPR does not approve the request, Dody maintained that his ministry has other alternatives. "We can call on foreign investors. There are various options," he said.

As of October 2024, IKN has bagged Rp58 trillion in investments from 8 groundbreaking stages, but it still falls short of the IKN Authority’s target of Rp100 trillion in investments. 

Besides investment issues, the continuity of IKN development began to be questioned after President Prabowo failed to mention the new capital city in his first state address on October 20. 

Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurthi Yudhoyono, also known as AHY, reassured that the president will continue the legacy project of former President Jokowi. He said Prabowo’s government will focus on completing the infrastructure for executive, legislative, and judiciary institutions. He referred to it as a central for government.

The narrowing of focus on infrastructure development is due to the need to allocate budgets to other sectors. "We are always faced with our fiscal limitations. That is why we strive to attract investments from various domestic and foreign sources for various infrastructure projects," he said on Sunday, December 1.

In a previous opportunity, AHY also stated that the government should not only focus on IKN projects. Instead, there are other national strategic projects in various regions that require attention. These developments must be considered to strengthen food and energy self-sufficiency and to improve welfare quality.

Furthermore, IKN development must take the budget into consideration. "I’ll say that IKN development will continue but some adjustments will be made, especially in terms of budgeting. We need to know how much budget is allocated to continue the projects in IKN," said AHY at the Ministry of Public Works on Wednesday, October 23. "The rest, we will monitor."

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