Two Prabowo Ministers Visit IKN Site, Their Comments Prove Unexpected
Jakarta — The Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, and the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security, General (Retired) Djamari Chaniago, visited the Nusantara Capital City (IKN).
The Forestry Minister visited IKN on Saturday, 28 February 2026, to plant trees in the Forest and Land Rehabilitation (RHL) area and Bhineka Tunggal Ika Plaza, whilst delivering Social Forestry Certificates (SK) to four Forest Farmer Groups in East Kalimantan.
The Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security visited IKN on Tuesday, 3 March 2026 to directly inspect the development progress of the Nusantara Region as the centre of Indonesia’s future government.
Both ministers also planted trees at Bhineka Tunggal Ika Plaza.
Accompanied by the Head of the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN), Basuki Hadimuljono, and the Governor of East Kalimantan, Rudy Mas’ud, Forestry Minister Raja Juli directly inspected rehabilitation progress, which has now reached a total of 1,805 hectares.
The area, previously dominated by monoculture eucalyptus industrial timber plantations, has been transformed into tropical rainforest through the planting of multiple purpose tree species (MPTS), native and endemic Kalimantan plants such as meranti, agarwood, kapur, medang, nyamplung and nyatoh, as well as fast-growing plants to accelerate ecosystem recovery.
Raja Juli stated that over the past two years, significant vegetation growth has increased biodiversity, marked by the return of wildlife such as birds to the rehabilitation area, whilst strengthening ecological functions as a carbon sink and water regulator.
“Forest as a natural resource is maximised for the welfare of society. Of course, the Ministry of Forestry will continue to provide full support for IKN, particularly in the afforestation aspect. We just saw the RHL location two years ago, but now the trees are already tall to replace monoculture plantations. It has also been reported that birds have returned because vegetation is becoming more varied to support IKN eventually becoming a forest city,” said Raja Juli during the IKN visit.
Beyond ecological considerations, this visit also underscored the social dimension of IKN’s development. The delivery of Social Forestry Certificates to four Forest Farmer Groups forms part of President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to ensure that communities surrounding forests obtain legal access, economic benefits and active participation in sustainable forest management.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister Djamari expressed appreciation for IKN’s development progress, which he regarded as demonstrating significant advancement.
“I feel fortunate and proud to be here seeing Nusantara City escorted and accompanied by the Governor and the Head of the IKN Authority. And I received much information about buildings and the continuation of the development of Nusantara City. This is a place that will become a source of pride for us all,” said Djamari.
During the visit, the Head of OIKN Basuki Hadimuljono, together with the Governor of East Kalimantan, Rudy Mas’ud, accompanied inspections of several strategic infrastructure facilities in the Nusantara region.
Subsequently, Coordinating Minister Djamari and his entourage inspected the State Palace and Garuda Palace areas. This inspection was conducted to directly assess the readiness of government facilities in Nusantara, which continue to be developed in phases.
They concluded their working visit by holding Friday prayers at IKN’s State Mosque, coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan.
Djamari assessed that the infrastructure availability in Nusantara is ready to support the acceleration of ministry relocation to IKN.
“Hopefully, in the near future, perhaps from ministries that are already prepared, their personnel can partially move in and be present here. Because the facilities are already available, from residential areas, hospitals, schools, markets to airports. So it is very easy to access,” he concluded.
This visit affirms the readiness for the phased relocation of the seat of government to IKN.
The increasing completeness of living ecosystem infrastructure forms an important foundation in supporting a modern and sustainable centre of government.