Chinese construction firms keen to cement trade ties with Jakarta through multimillion dollar projects to build a brand new centre of power
3-MIN READ3-MINRalph Jenningsin Ibu Kota Nusantara, IndonesiaPublished: 9:00am, 26 Apr 2026After an hour’s 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.
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’s seat of government.
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.
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.
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