{"id":47505,"date":"2026-04-26T09:47:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T01:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=47505"},"modified":"2026-04-26T09:47:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T01:47:57","slug":"muddy-yet-clear-cut-how-chinese-investors-are-turning-jungle-into-indonesias-new-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=47505","title":{"rendered":"Muddy yet clear-cut: How Chinese investors are turning jungle into Indonesia\u2019s new capital"},"content":{"rendered":"


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After an hour\u2019s drive through the jungle of Borneo, you reach more jungle. Your rental van from the Balikpapan city airport shakes precariously, navigating a partial bridge washout. A roadside sign admonishes against poaching the endangered sun bears.<\/p>\n

By hour three you\u2019ve arrived at Indonesia\u2019s new capital<\/span>, which is due to start taking over from gridlocked, polluted and seaward-sinking Jakarta in 2028.<\/div>\n

Welcome to Ibu Kota Nusantara, known locally as just Nusantara or IKN. Eventually, if all goes according to plan, it will be a brand new city housing the 287 million-person archipelago\u2019s seat of government.<\/p>\n

For now, it is still a jungle. But investors from China are clearing away a lot of that land to build the capital. Without them, the flora and fauna would keep a firm grip on the area.<\/p>\n

Indonesian<\/span> government figures show that Chinese investors had spent US$29 million during 2025 to develop pieces of the capital and committed US$3.08 billion more.<\/div>\n
The Chinese investors, a pillar for the new capital\u2019s construction during a budget cut year, hope to cement long-term relations in the massive Southeast Asian market and most locals are keen to see what they can do<\/span>.<\/div>\n
Specifically, Shenzhen-based investment group Delonix, the first Chinese firm to come aboard at IKN, is developing a mixed-use commercial project. Chinese tech hardware giant Huawei Technologies<\/span> is working with local partners on \u201csmart city\u201d infrastructure, and Citic Construction is building homes.<\/div>\n

Chinese firms are also taking part in road and tunnel construction work worth 27 trillion rupiah (US$1.57 billion) and mass transit projects for 28 trillion rupiah, according to data compiled by Asia-Pacific Economics.<\/p>\n

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\u2018The smell is awful\u2019: Indonesian capital drowning in waste<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2018The smell is awful\u2019: Indonesian capital drowning in waste<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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