President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo departed for Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 in a move to discuss investment opportunities in Indonesia’s new capital city (IKN) with UAE business leaders.
During the visit, Jokowi is scheduled to meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), the UAE President and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, at Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace.
“President Joko Widodo is scheduled to meet President MBZ at the Palace,” Yusuf Permana, Deputy for Protocol, Press, and Media at the Presidential Secretariat, said via WhatsApp text messaging app as quoted on Monday, July 15, 2024.
Acting Head of the IKN Authority, Basuki Hadimuljono, said that Jokowi will also meet with Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, to follow up on Alabbar’s interest in investing in IKN.
“On July 15 and 16, 2024, President Jokowi will be in Abu Dhabi to follow up on Ali Rashed Alabbar’s visit,” Basuki said in Jakarta recently.
Emaar Properties, known for projects like the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest structure, and Dubai Mall, is keen on IKN’s development.
Alabbar previously visited IKN Nusantara on May 26, 2024. “Emaar’s leadership, a global property company from the UAE, directly observed the development progress in IKN with the Head of OIKN, the Minister of SOEs, and other officials,” OIKN spokesman Troy Pantouw said at that time.
Jokowi’s visit follows the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 75/2024 on Accelerating IKN Development on July 11, 2024. This regulation grants investors land use rights for 190 years and building use rights for 160 years if they invest in IKN.
The regulation aims to support business involvement through government policies. The IKN Authority believes Presidential Regulation No. 75/2024 will boost investment in Nusantara, targeting Rp100 trillion (US$61.1 billion) this year. One incentive is the removal of land management fees for investors in IKN.
Agung Wicaksono, Deputy for Funding and Investment at the IKN Authority, said eliminating these fees will ease domestic investment. However, he did not specify the types of fees waived.
“Essentially, Presidential Regulation No. 75/2024 simplifies investment in IKN,” Agung said on July 12, 2024.
The regulation offers incentives only to Pioneer Business Actors, who have expressed interest and signed letters of intent with the IKN Authority, committing to realize their investments by 2028.
Agung believes the regulation will help achieve this year’s Rp100 trillion investment target. As of May 2024, investments in Nusantara through five groundbreaking projects totaled Rp49.6 trillion.
The number of entities expressing interest has increased by 14 since May 2024, reaching 421 entities, with 45 classified as Pioneer Business Actors. Agung noted that coordination is ongoing to secure foreign investment.
“We are still coordinating for the execution of foreign investments,” he said.
