Nina A. Loasana, Jakarta – The Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority has earned an unqualified opinion from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) for its first financial statement, indicating the authority's financial accountability and transparency regarding the ongoing projects in the nation's future capital in East Kalimantan.
Also known as a clean opinion, the BPK issued the highest of its four audit ratings to the IKN Authority over its financial statement for fiscal year 2023.
"The IKN Authority was established only in 2022, it is still in its infancy, so to speak. However, we managed to gain an unqualified opinion for our first-ever financial report," the IKN Authority's acting deputy head Raja Juli Anthony said on Monday at a ceremony in Jakarta.
Raja, who is also the incumbent deputy agrarian and spatial planning minister, said this was proof that the authority had managed state finances in line with the principles of good governance, adding that it was committed to continue doing so.
"We strive to maintain a high standard in every aspect of our operations. As President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo once said, earning a clean opinion for our financial reports is a must," he said.
IKN Authority secretary Achmad Jaka Santos Adiwijaya said separately that the BPK's unqualified opinion was expected to help increase public and investor confidence in the new city's various infrastructure development projects.
The outgoing Jokowi administration has been struggling to attract foreign investors to fund the US$32 billion megaproject, which has stoked concerns over the fate of the new capital, especially given that the government has set a 20 percent financing cap from the state coffers.
The government is racing to complete administrative buildings and crucial public services in Nusantara so it can host the Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 17, when Jokowi is slated to inaugurate the new capital.