The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has revealed that the construction of the State Palace in the new National Capital (IKN) will be directly supervised by foreigners to ensure the building’s quality as a symbol of the state.
Pandjaitan has requested permission from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) for foreigners to oversee the project.
“We must not compromise on the quality of the Presidential Palace,” he said during a meeting with the House of Representatives’ Budget Agency on Friday, 9th June 2023.
Pandjaitan also expressed hope that the State Palace at IKN would be completed expeditiously. The target is for the palace to be ready for ceremonies and the celebration of Indonesian Independence Day by 17th August 2024.
Currently, Pandjaitan serves as the Chair of the Investment Acceleration Task Force at IKN. He mentioned attracting significant foreign investments from countries such as Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and China.
“We recently presented the IKN project in Singapore, and they showed great enthusiasm and interest in participating,” he added.