Soil and Water of 34 Provinces Integrated into New Capital

TheIndonesia.id - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) led a ceremony to integrate the archipelago's "tanah" and water in Indonesia's new capital Nusantara. In Indonesian, "tanah" is the word used for both "soil" and "land".

President and 34 governors and representatives of governors from all provinces in Indonesia gather in the Kilometer Zero Point area of the National Capital (IKN) Nusantara, East Kalimantan Province.

President Jokowi, accompanied by First Lady Iriana Jokowi, arrived at the IKN Kilometer Zero Point welcomed by Sultan of Kutai Kartanegara Ing Martadipura XXI Adji Muhammad Arifin, Monday, March 14, 2022. Sultan Kutai Kartanegara then carried out a traditional procession before President and Mrs. Iriana. President and Mrs. Iriana then walked to the IKN Kilometer Zero Point entertained by the Ganjar Ganjur Dance from Kutai Kartanegara.

Several ministers accompany President and Mrs. Iriana including State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir, Minister of Investment/Head of Investment Coordination Agency Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung.

Arriving at the IKN Kilometer Zero Point, the national anthem starts playing in the background. Standing next to the President and Mrs. Iriana Jokowi, Speaker of People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo and Governor of East Kalimantan Isran Noor.

President led the integration ceremony of the archipelago's soil and water integration. The first governor to hand over soil and water from his area was Anies Baswedan, the Governor of DKI Jakarta. Then successively, the governors from Aceh, Papua, Special Region Yogyakarta, North Sumatra, West Papua, Central Java, West Sumatra, North Maluku, East Java, and so on until it was closed by the Governor of East Kalimantan Isran Noor.

All the soil and water that the governors and representatives of the governors handed over were put together by President Jokowi into a large vessel. In his remarks, President Jokowi said the integration of the archipelago's soil and water indicates a big goal and a big work that will soon begin, which is the construction of the national capital city of Nusantara.

“I am here with 34 governors from 34 provinces from all over the country, along with 15 community leaders from East Kalimantan. We know just now that the soil and water brought by the 34 governors have been put together in a place that will be the location of the national capital Nusantara," said the President.

The President emphasized that the integration procession of the archipelago's soil and water is a strong manifestation of diversity and unity to build the capital of the archipelago. "Strong collaboration between the central government, regional governments, the military, police, the private sector, and the entire community in the development of the nation's capital city will greatly help what we aspire to be achieved soon," said President Jokowi.