The Tamesis
January 15, 2026
jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto made his first visit to the country’s future capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan, a move that analysts believe is an attempt to dispel doubts about his commitment to completing his predecessor’s projects.
This is Prabowo’s first appearance in the future capital since taking office in October 2024, having arrived in Nushatara on Monday afternoon after a working visit to Balikpapan earlier in the day.
Prabowo spent the night in Nusatara and reviewed the ongoing construction progress on Tuesday, during which he reportedly issued a series of instructions to the Nusatara Capital (IKN) Authority to speed up development.
The visit marks an important moment for the development of Nusantara, which has long been seen as a project that has been shelved under Prabowo’s government due to budget cuts and the president’s prolonged absence.
“Prabowo’s presence in the new capital demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensuring that development in the region proceeds as planned and in a sustainable manner,” the Cabinet Secretariat said in a statement on Monday.
Launched in 2022 under former President Joko Widodo, the Nusantara project aims to address Jakarta’s long-standing problems, including overpopulation, land subsidence and rising sea levels that have long plagued the capital.
Since taking office, however, Prabowo has significantly reduced the annual budget allocated to Nusantara development and has only assigned Jokowi’s eldest son, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to inspect the site, fueling speculation that he is unwilling to prioritize the project over his own flagship free nutritious meal program.
Prabowo last year approved a Rp 48.8 trillion ($2.89 billion) budget for the Nusantara program until 2029, equivalent to only about 60% of Jokowi’s spending, compared with Rp 335 trillion for the free meals program.
Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a political analyst at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said Prabowo’s visit seemed aimed at countering the growing public perception that the new capital had quietly become an abandoned town.
“This visit looks like it is an attempt to counter the notion that ‘Nusantara’ has stalled and will not be completed, similar to Hambalang [sports complex],” Vasisto said Wednesday.
Launched in 2010 during the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Hambalang project was halted in 2013 amid a major corruption scandal involving senior politicians, and has become notorious as a failed megaproject.
Vasisto added that the visit to Nusantara also marks Prabowo’s renewed commitment to moving the seat of government and his intention to open an office in Nusantara in 2028, a year before the next presidential election.
In June last year, Prabowo signed a presidential regulation designating Nusantara as Indonesia’s “political center” until 2028, with all three branches of government expected to operate there.
“From the beginning, the president has emphasized the need to accelerate the construction of legislative and judicial branch facilities, hoping to complete them by 2028,” State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said on Tuesday.
Prasetio added that Prabowo also took some notes on some infrastructure designs and their functions during his visit.
look in?
However, political analyst Kennedy Muslim of Indikator Politik Indonesia said Prabowo’s visit was merely a matter of convenience, given that he visited neighboring Balikpapan earlier on Monday, where he inaugurated the commissioning of the state-owned Pertamina refinery.
After a US$7.4 billion upgrade, the Balikpapan Refinery has increased its refining capacity from 260,000 barrels per day to 360,000 barrels per day, making it the largest refinery in Indonesia.
“I don’t read any political angle into Prabowo’s visit to Nusantara other than the fact that the president is close to the area. […] So it’s worth checking in to see what’s going on with Nusantara,” Kennedy said on Wednesday.
Kennedy added that the clearest indicator of Nusantara’s priorities under Prabowo’s government remains the size of the state budget allocation.
“Just distribute [remains limited]that tells you everything you need to know about Nusantara’s priorities,” he said.
