Inside the 'ghost city' designed to become Indonesia's new capital

Carved into the rainforests of Borneo, a brand-new city is taking shape.

It features a presidential palace, modern offices, residential towers and wide, open roads.

This is Nusantara, the futuristic city designed to become Indonesia's new capital.

But there is one big problem.

The city is quiet. Almost too quiet.

It was designed to hold 1.2 million people by 2029. So far, only about 10,000 have moved in.

Indonesia has spent billions on building a new capital. But there are fears the world's fourth-largest country's bet may not pay off.

Nusantara stands in stark contrast to Indonesia's current capital, Jakarta.

The heaving metropolis, home to nearly 42 million people, was last year declared the world's most populous city, overtaking Tokyo to secure the title. 

Jakarta's issues are well documented. It is notorious for its poor air quality and its heavily congested traffic, which is among the worst in the world.

There are also concerns about overcrowding: Greater Jakarta has 1.5 times as many people as Australia, living in a space about 1,200 times smaller than Australia's landmass.

But the city's biggest problem is that it is sinking.

About 40 per cent of Jakarta sits below sea level, with a sea wall in the city's north serving as a line of defence against tidal floods.

But parts of the north still regularly flood in the rainy season.

There have been many proposals over the decades to move Indonesia's capital, stretching as far back as the 1950s.

But in 2019, former president Joko Widodo, known commonly as Jokowi, made the ambitious call to build a glittering new capital city deep in the jungle of Borneo.

Utopia in the jungle

The city of IKN, or Nusantara, is more than 1,200 kilometres from Jakarta, in the province of East Kalimantan.

Nusantara is seen as somewhat of a legacy project for Jokowi, who was highly popular during his time as president.

It was pitched as the true centre of Indonesia's thousands of islands and an engine for future economic growth.

It was also expected to wrest control from the Java-centric decision-makers of Jakarta.

Construction began on the forest city in 2022, with the aim of it becoming a hub for 1.9 million people by Indonesia's 100th anniversary in 2045.

It was expected to cost about $45 billion.

In 2024, Jokowi celebrated Indonesia's Independence Day at the newly constructed palace in Nusantara, after the city had been partially inaugurated and named as the new capital.

But a lot can change in two years.

One man's legacy is another's debt

Jokowi spent about 43 trillion IDR — roughly $3.5 billion — on Nusantara in 2024.

But after President Prabowo Subianto took office, the annual budget for the city was slashed to 13 trillion IDR in 2025 and again to 6.3 trillion IDR in 2026.

Prabowo had pitched himself as a president who would continue Jokowi's agenda, but analysts have observed a widening rift between the two men.

He has shifted large portions of the budget to his signature policies, including a nationwide school meals program, and has not spoken much about Nusantara's development.

During the 2025 State of the Nation address, Prabowo mentioned it once. This year, he did not speak about it at all.

A report in Agence France-Presse last year quoted an anonymous official involved in the construction of Nusantara, saying "Prabowo feels that this is not his legacy."

When Prabowo visited Nusantara early this year, he stayed just one night in the city.

He has signed a presidential regulation that aims to make Nusantara the "political capital" by 2028, to coincide with the completion of official buildings.

But Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled this year that Jakarta would remain the official capital until Prabowo signs an additional presidential decree.

That decision prompted considerable discussion.

Would Nusantara become a definitive new capital for 2 million Indonesians? Would it simply become a hub for different branches of government?

Or might it be abandoned in 2028, in the lead-up to a 2029 election?

Living in a political experiment

While the wider Nusantara area, which includes dozens of villages and sub-districts, has a population of 147,000, far fewer live in the inner core of the newly developed city.

The brand-new residential towers dotted around Nusantara are home to about 1,800 public servants and defence and security personnel.

The ABC received permission to visit Nusantara from the Nusantara Capital Authority, or OIKN, which manages the development of the city.

For young OIKN worker Ranty Wiyati, living in Nusantara is a big change of pace from the bustling streets of Jakarta.

"You can't deny that it is [quiet]," she said.

"It might not be as busy as Jakarta, and there aren't as many entertainment options, but that's better for our mental health.

"We get creative with ways to stay off social media … we do things like journalling, chatting, holding book clubs."

OIKN is hiring young workers like Ranty to move to Nusantara, while government departments have been slowly transferring workers to the city.

"I chose Nusantara because I thought it would be a new living laboratory for Indonesia," Ranty said, echoing language used by OIKN's chief Basuki Hadimuljono.

"We're hoping that more public servants can be relocated here soon to make the place a bit livelier."

The ABC met Ranty at one of the handful of coffee shops in Nusantara, before taking an electric bus that runs on a loop through the city, passing several hospitals and two hotels.

Shopping centres are slated to be built in the coming years.

At an outlook in the city, tourists were singing the city's praises.

"Seeing this makes me feel really proud," Darmiyah, from South Kalimantan, said.

"We took a bus for about 12 hours," Yuda, also from South Kalimantan, said.

"The development is really grand. It makes total sense for this to be the national capital moving forward."

Ranty can drink water straight from the taps in her apartment thanks to the filtration systems installed across the city, something almost impossible to do in Jakarta without risking getting sick.

Nusantara is also aiming to be much greener than Jakarta, thanks to compulsory recycling and monitoring of water and electricity use.

"It's a real shame when people call this a ghost city, or talk like that in the media," Ranty said.

"Nusantara is a great opportunity, especially for the younger generation, to build something more ideal from the ground up.

"While we know there aren't many here right now, once the president moves here, that'll be a major turning point."

But while those inside Nusantara remain optimistic, some in Jakarta wonder whether the project will pay off.

Fears new city could become 'white elephant'

The $45 billion for Jokowi's vision was expected to be covered by 80 per cent private investment, along with 20 per cent government spending.

CELIOS economist Bhima Yudhistira said investor appetite remained low due to geopolitical conditions, rising interest rates and policy risks.

"Nusantara risks becoming a 'white elephant' — an expensive project with minimal impact," he said.

"[It] could end up as a stranded asset, as the state budget may only suffice for basic building maintenance."

He said Prabowo's lack of commitment and his rift with Jokowi meant the project was now a "political gamble."

Public policy expert Agus Pambagio said funding cuts and the court decision had also slowed progress.

"These are different political parties, different people under the presidents … the style of leadership is different."

Agus doubts Nusantara will be Indonesia's capital by 2028, but OIKN officials remain confident.

"As the old saying goes, the dogs bark, but the caravan moves on," OIKN deputy Dr Alimuddin said.

"To this day, we have full support from the government.

"Does the government need to say in the media, 'We support this?' That's not necessary."

"What matters most is not talking, but keeping the financial support and construction running smoothly."

OIKN said private investors had so far committed $6 billion to Nusantara, and that another $10 billion had come from public-private partnerships.

A lot of people are eagerly awaiting 2028 to see whether Prabowo will issue that presidential decree making Nusantara the political capital.

As construction continues, an enormous steel sculpture shaped like Indonesia's national symbol, the Garuda, a winged, mythical eagle-like bird, watches over the city.

The next year will be a pivotal one for local and foreign investors.

Will Nusantara live up to the original dream of a thriving, populated forest city — or will the massive Garuda remain a mighty monument to a failed legacy project?