Carved into the rainforests of Borneo, a brand-new city is taking shape.
asserted
city → carve → shape
It features a presidential palace, modern offices, residential towers and wide, open roads.
asserted
It → feature → palace
This is Nusantara, the futuristic city designed to become Indonesia's new capital.
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This → design → ?
It was designed to hold 1.2 million people by 2029.
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It → design → 2029
So far, only about 10,000 have moved in.
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10,000 → move → ?
Indonesia has spent billions on building a new capital.
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Indonesia → spend → capital
But there are fears the world's fourth-largest country's bet may not pay off.
uncertain
bet → be → ?
Nusantara stands in stark contrast to Indonesia's current capital, Jakarta.
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Nusantara → stand → capital
The heaving metropolis, home to nearly 42 million people, was last year declared the world's most populous city, overtaking Tokyo to secure the title.
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metropolis → heave → title
Jakarta's issues are well documented.
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issues → document → ?
There are also concerns about overcrowding: Greater Jakarta has 1.5 times as many people as Australia, living in a space about 1,200 times smaller than Australia's landmass.
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Jakarta → be → landmass
But the city's biggest problem is that it is sinking.
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it → sink → ?
About 40 per cent of Jakarta sits below sea level, with a sea wall in the city's north serving as a line of defence against tidal floods.
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wall → sit → floods
But parts of the north still regularly flood in the rainy season.
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parts → flood → season
But in 2019, former president Joko Widodo, known commonly as Jokowi, made the ambitious call to build a glittering new capital city deep in the jungle of Borneo.
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Widodo → know → Borneo
Nusantara is seen as somewhat of a legacy project for Jokowi, who was highly popular during his time as president.
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who → see → president
It was pitched as the true centre of Indonesia's thousands of islands and an engine for future economic growth.
asserted
It → pitch → growth
It was also expected to wrest control from the Java-centric decision-makers of Jakarta.
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It → expect → Jakarta
Construction began on the forest city in 2022, with the aim of it becoming a hub for 1.9 million people by Indonesia's 100th anniversary in 2045.
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it → begin → 2045
It was expected to cost about $45 billion.
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It → expect → billion
In 2024, Jokowi celebrated Indonesia's Independence Day at the newly constructed palace in Nusantara, after the city had been partially inaugurated and named as the new capital.
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city → celebrate → capital
But a lot can change in two years.
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lot → change → years
One man's legacy is another's debt
Jokowi spent about 43 trillion IDR — roughly $3.5 billion — on Nusantara in 2024.
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Jokowi → spend → 2024
But after President Prabowo Subianto took office, the annual budget for the city was slashed to 13 trillion IDR in 2025 and again to 6.3 trillion IDR in 2026.
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budget → take → 2026
Prabowo had pitched himself as a president who would continue Jokowi's agenda, but analysts have observed a widening rift between the two men.
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analysts → pitch → men
He has shifted large portions of the budget to his signature policies, including a nationwide school meals program, and has not spoken much about Nusantara's development.
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He → shift → development
During the 2025 State of the Nation address, Prabowo mentioned it once.
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Prabowo → mention → it
This year, he did not speak about it at all.
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he → speak → it
A report in Agence France-Presse last year quoted an anonymous official involved in the construction of Nusantara, saying "Prabowo feels that this is not his legacy."
When Prabowo visited Nusantara early this year, he stayed just one night in the city.
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he → quote → city
He has signed a presidential regulation that aims to make Nusantara the "political capital" by 2028, to coincide with the completion of official buildings.
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Nusantara → sign → buildings
But Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled this year that Jakarta would remain the official capital until Prabowo signs an additional presidential decree.
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Prabowo → rule → decree
That decision prompted considerable discussion.
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decision → prompt → discussion
Would Nusantara become a definitive new capital for 2 million Indonesians?
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Nusantara → become → Indonesians
Would it simply become a hub for different branches of government?
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it → become → government
Or might it be abandoned in 2028, in the lead-up to a 2029 election?
Living in a political experiment
While the wider Nusantara area, which includes dozens of villages and sub-districts, has a population of 147,000, far fewer live in the inner core of the newly developed city.
The brand-new residential towers dotted around Nusantara are home to about 1,800 public servants and defence and security personnel.
uncertain
towers → abandon → servants
The ABC received permission to visit Nusantara from the Nusantara Capital Authority, or OIKN, which manages the development of the city.
asserted
which → receive → city
For young OIKN worker Ranty Wiyati, living in Nusantara is a big change of pace from the bustling streets of Jakarta.
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living → live → Jakarta
"You can't deny that it is [quiet]," she said.
"
asserted
she → deny → ?
It might not be as busy as Jakarta, and there aren't as many entertainment options, but that's better for our mental health.
uncertain
that → be → health
We get creative with ways to stay off social media … we do things like journalling, chatting, holding book clubs."
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we → get → clubs
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia