President Prabowo Subianto has signed Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 79/2025, outlining plans for the development of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) to serve as the country’s “political capital” by 2028. 

The regulation updates the 2025 Government Work Plan, aligning with the first phase of the 2025–2045 National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN) and the first year of the 2025–2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN). It also revises Perpres No. 109 of 2024.

According to its annex, the regulation specifies that planning, development, and relocation to IKN will be carried out to establish the city as the political capital by 2028. Details include:

● Core and surrounding area size: 800–850 hectares

● Office building development: 20 percent

● Housing development: 50 percent (affordable, livable, and sustainable)

● Relocation or reassignment of 1,700–4,100 civil servants

● Construction of 476 new houses and quality improvements for 38,504 housing units

Member of the House of Representatives’ (DPR) domestic political affairs Commission II, Muhammad Khozin, however questioned the phrase “political capital” in the regulation, noting that it does not appear in the IKN Law (Law No. 21/2023), which defines IKN’s function as the center of government.

“There is no mention of ‘political capital’ in the IKN Law. The government must clarify whether this new phrase implies a definitive relocation of the national capital or is merely symbolic,” Khozin said on Saturday, September. 20, 2025.

He pointed out that under Article 39 of Law No. 3/2022, the capital can only be officially relocated through a presidential decree. “If ‘political capital’ is equated with ‘national capital,’ this has political and legal implications, both domestically and internationally,” Khozin stressed.

He added that such a move would require preparation not only by the government but also by state institutions, non-state organizations, and international bodies based in Jakarta. Conversely, if the term simply refers to IKN’s role as the administrative center, Khozin argued that introducing new terminology could confuse the public.

The IKN had been under construction since 2022 under seventh president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo administration.