Indonesia holds unfinished future capital's first Independence Day ceremony

17/8/2024 12:35

        Indonesia marked 79 years of independence on Saturday with a ceremony in the unfinished future capital of Nusantara, which was planned to relieve pressure on Jakarta but whose construction has lagged behind schedule.
        
        Hundreds of officials and invited guests wearing the traditional clothes of Indonesian tribes gathered on a stretch of grass amid the ongoing construction of government buildings and and view of construction cranes in the center of the Nusantara city.
        
        Indonesia's President Joko Widodo and Cabinet ministers attended the Independence Day ceremony at the new Presidential Palace, built in the shape of the mythical eagle-winged protector figure Garuda.
        
        The celebration was initially planned to inaugurate Nusantara as the country's new capital, but with construction behind schedule it's not clear when the transfer will take place.
        
        Widodo said earlier in the week that 8,000 guests would be invited, but the number was later reduced to 1,300 because adequate infrastructure in not place.
        The celebration at the new State Palace on the island of Borneo was held simultaneously with a celebration at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta that was attended by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin.