With its gleaming offices, electric buses and economically productive residents, Nusantara is the quintessential modern metropolis ¡ª smack in the middle of a vast rainforest.
At least, that¡¯s what the government brochures depict. What they don¡¯t show quite so clearly is where Indonesia will find $34 billion (?4.56 trillion) to build a new capital city from scratch.
With just 18 months left in his final term, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is still aggressively courting international investors to finance 80% of a project that he hopes will elevate Indonesia¡¯s economy, resettle millions of people from a rapidly sinking Jakarta and cement his own legacy. Hosting this year¡¯s Group of 20 summit was just the latest opportunity for the president, popularly known as Jokowi, to pitch the ambitious project.
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