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Indonesia holds curtailed Independence Day event in troubled new capital
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-holds-curtailed-independence-day-event-troubled-new-capital-2024-08-17/Indonesia holds curtailed Independence Day event in troubled new capital
By Willy Kurniawan
August 17, 2024 3:18 AM EDT Updated 5 hours ago
NUSANTARA, Indonesia, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia celebrated its independence anniversary at the site of its planned new capital, Nusantara, for the first time on Saturday, in a scaled-back ceremony as the still-under-construction city is beset by problems and faces delays.
A legacy project of outgoing President Joko Widodo, Nusantara has suffered construction delays and funding shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of foreign investment, and more recently, resignations of project leaders.
In Saturday's celebration of the country's independence from Japanese rule that ended in 1945, the number of attendees was cut to 1,300 guests, down from 8,000 initially, as lodgings and food supply were limited, Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, said earlier this week.
[...]
Incoming president Prabowo Subianto, who also attended Saturday's ceremony, has promised to continue Nusantara.
[...]
Reporting by Willy Kurniawan in Nusantara, Writing by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
By Willy Kurniawan
August 17, 2024 3:18 AM EDT Updated 5 hours ago
NUSANTARA, Indonesia, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia celebrated its independence anniversary at the site of its planned new capital, Nusantara, for the first time on Saturday, in a scaled-back ceremony as the still-under-construction city is beset by problems and faces delays.
A legacy project of outgoing President Joko Widodo, Nusantara has suffered construction delays and funding shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of foreign investment, and more recently, resignations of project leaders.
In Saturday's celebration of the country's independence from Japanese rule that ended in 1945, the number of attendees was cut to 1,300 guests, down from 8,000 initially, as lodgings and food supply were limited, Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, said earlier this week.
[...]
Incoming president Prabowo Subianto, who also attended Saturday's ceremony, has promised to continue Nusantara.
[...]
Reporting by Willy Kurniawan in Nusantara, Writing by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman