A senior member of President Joko Widodo’s cabinet confirms that SoftBank Group Corp. has announced to invest $30 to $40 billion toward the development of a new Indonesian capital. SoftBank Chief Executive Officer and founder Masayoshi Son met Jokowi, as the head of state is popularly known, in Jakarta last week and expressed his interest in joining the project. He has already been appointed to the steering committee overseeing the city’s construction.
The size of the investment proposal from the Japanese company is puzzling as Indonesia has estimated the total cost of building the new capital from scratch at about $34 billion. SoftBank said in an emailed statement later Friday that the company hasn’t disclosed the actual numbers.
In 2018, the company signed a memorandum of understanding to support a planned $200 billion solar project in Saudi Arabia. SoftBank and the Public Investment Fund have said they are continuing to collaborate on solar energy plans after the Wall Street Journal said the project was put on hold.
Indonesia is set to begin construction of a new capital on Borneo Island later this year as Jokowi seeks to decongest a fast-sinking Jakarta. The new city will sport world-class educational institutions, modern hospitals, botanical gardens and an environmentally-friendly transportation system.
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