Gov’t Kicks Off Construction of New Capital’s First Hotel

President Jokowi leads the groundbreaking ceremony of Nusantara Hotel in Nusantara Capital region, North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan province, Thursday (09/21). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

The Indonesian Government has officially rolled out the construction project of the first hotel in the country’s new capital of Nusantara (IKN).

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo himself on Thursday (09/21) led the groundbreaking ceremony of the construction of the hotel, which is named Nusantara Hotel.

“By saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, this afternoon I hereby declare the groundbreaking of Nusantara Hotel begin,” he said at the construction site in North Penajam Paser regency in East Kalimantan province.

According to the President, the construction of the five-star hotel, which is carried out by domestic investors, will boost trust from and attract investors, including foreign investors, to invest in the new capital.

“I want to thank Pak Aguan and his colleagues who are here with us this afternoon. [Your presence] will boost confidence [of investors] to invest in Nusantara,” he said, adding that other infrastructure and facilities will also be built in the new capital.

“Other groundbreaking ceremonies are under way tomorrow for Indogrosir hospital, another hotel, and the training center of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI),” he said, adding that between six to eight football fields are set to be constructed in Nusantara with funding from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

“The construction of the fields will be finished in around six months, funded directly by FIFA. It shows that the international organization trusts us. FIFA gives funding to the PSSI, which is set to build [the facilities] here,” he said, while expressing optimism that the training center will bring the Indonesian football national team to a higher level in the next five to ten years.

“Once we have six or eight football fields here for our training camp, we will see what will become of our national team in the next five to ten years. I believe we will make a winning team at least in Asia or Southeast Asia,” he remarked. (FID/UN) (DH/EP)