South Korean investors have been invited by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) in Indonesia to invest in the development of the country’s new capital city, Nusantara. PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono welcomed the investors and cited the longstanding cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea. The decision to relocate the capital from Jakarta to Nusantara was made in 2019 due to rising population pressure, urbanization and environmental damage. South Korea and Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding on Technical Cooperation in the Relocation and Development of IKN that will serve as the basis for a bilateral mechanism for South Korean companies to actively participate in developing Nusantara. The Future Smart Forest City concept will be applied to development of the new city, in which 25% of the total area of 6,600 hectares will be used for the Central Government Core Area, while the remaining 5,000 hectares will be left as green areas. Major infrastructure projects costing IDR62tn ($4.3bn) have already been undertaken, covering basics such as drinking water, sanitation, logistics and government buildings.
