For the future capital of Indonesia, “everything is following its course”, assures the president despite the delays

Capital of the Dutch East Indies under the name of Batavia, Jakarta should officially lose its status as capital while the Javanese metropolis of more than 10 million inhabitants is crumbling under automobile traffic and pollution and is threatened by rising waters.

If Jakarta will remain the economic capital, Nusantara, on the island of Borneo, an emblematic project of the outgoing president's double mandate, must be the next political and administrative capital but the project is months, even years, behind schedule.

President Widodo is scheduled to attend a flag ceremony in Nusantara on August 17, Indonesia's independence anniversary, and has invited many dignitaries, including ambassadors and key investors, to the event.

But the entire project has fallen far behind schedule and the arrival of a first wave of thousands of civil servants who were to settle in the city in September has already been postponed for several months. Additionally, the president must still issue a decree to formalize the transfer of the capital and the date.

"We came here to check the latest developments... in particular the construction of the (presidential) palace. I see that everything is on track," Widodo said in a statement.

The president, his wife Iriana Widodo and several officials arrived there on Sunday, accompanied by a number of Indonesian social media influencers.

In particular, they took a toll road under construction which connects Nusantara to the nearest town, Balikpapan.

President Widodo's contested project, worth 32 billion dollars (29,4 billion EUR), is to transfer Parliament, the presidency, but also many civil servants to the new capital.

The Indonesian government aims to settle a population of 1,9 million inhabitants there by 2045, with the corollary of human and industrial activities in the heart of Borneo.

The establishment of the new capital is strongly criticized by environmentalists who denounce deforestation in one of the largest expanses of tropical rainforest in the world.