We do not want foreign parties to build our presidential palace and government offices.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan made assurance that construction of the presidential palace and government offices in the new capital city would exclude foreign funding and solely utilize the state budget.

"We do not want foreign parties to build our presidential palace and government offices. We want to fund this by using the state budget," Pandjaitan stated here on Friday.

Earlier, founder of the Japanese telecom and investment conglomerate SoftBank and Chief Executive Officer of SoftBank Mobile Masayoshi Son has offered to invest US$30 billion to $40 billion toward the development of a new Indonesian capital in East Kalimantan.

However, Pandjaitan emphasized that construction of the two clusters, symbolic of national pride, will not utilize foreign funding. Nonetheless, other clusters in the new capital city will be opened for foreign investors.

"I said, it (the new capital city) would need some US$40 billion. He offered to provide the entire fund. As Indonesians, we ought to take pride in the fact that for the presidential palace, no foreign funding is used and only the state budget," he noted.

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He remarked that Masayoshi can still invest in the development of other clusters, such as world-class universities or hospital.

"For other clusters, we can negotiate it. President Joko Widodo will decide on the matter in February," Pandjaitan remarked.

The government announced in August 2019 that the Indonesian capital will be moved to a 256 thousand-hectare area straddling the districts of North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara in East Kalimantan.

The Public Works and Housing Ministry aims to provide basic infrastructure in the new capital, especially the new presidential palace and other government buildings in the 5.6-thousand ha downtown area.

The government will invite the private sector to help develop non-public infrastructure through a public-private partnership (PPP) or direct investment.
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