Indonesia’s new capital city project put on hold amid pandemic: Bappenas

• The government has postponed the plan to construct Indonesia’s new capital city in East Kalimantan as the country switched its priorities to mitigating the coronavirus pandemic, an official has said.
• National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) head Suharso Monoarfa confirmed with The Jakarta Post on 9 Sep 20 that the capital relocation plan had been suspended for the time being, since the pandemic had forced the government to shift its policies.
• Suharso previously announced the postponement of the multibillion-dollar project during a meeting on 8 Sep 20 with House of Representatives Commission XI overseeing finance and banking affairs.
• Although the construction plan was suspended, Suharso said the government would continue with the planning stages for the new capital, which will be built in North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regencies, including those related to infrastructure development in buffer cities of East Kalimantan’s provincial capital, Samarinda, and port city Balikpapan.

External Link : https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/09/09/indonesias-new-capital-city-project-put-on-hold-amid-pandemic-bappenas.html