Capital Idea, Indonesia. Now for Some Reality
There’s no need to rush to build the jungle metropolis of Nusantara. Seats of government proceed in fits and starts.
Slowly rising.
Photographer: Muhammad Fadli/BloombergCapital cities don't just happen. They develop slowly over decades, perhaps centuries, before resembling their creator's dream — if they ever do. Indonesia is discovering such massive endeavors are hard work and prone to delays. Economics has an annoying habit of intruding.
Some of the hype has been deflated from Nusantara, the $30 billion administrative center that Indonesian President Joko Widodo made one of his signature projects. Erecting the city from scratch in the equatorial forests of Borneo was always going to be arduous. In the past week, authorities made two important concessions: the settlement may not be ready for the first batch of civil servants, and the guest list for national day celebrations had to be scaled back owing to a lack of catering and lodging.