Thales wants to build a smart city in the new capital of Indonesia

With Indonesia's new capital being built on the island of Borneo, the European defense technology company Thales is optimistic about prospects for smart city development.

The project would create "opportunities" worth up to $300 million, according to the company's president and director for Southeast Asia, who was speaking with reporters.

The Indonesian new capital city administration and Thales have inked an MOU "for strategic cooperation" concerning a Nusantara smart city. According to the MOU, they will work together more closely to develop concepts for smart cities, such as digital identification, cybersecurity, data centers, and unmanned aircraft system traffic management.

In August of the following year, the Indonesian government intends to begin moving a few crucial operations from Jakarta, the country's current capital, to Nusantara. With the official groundbreaking for additional infrastructure set for this week, construction is well under way. It is anticipated that the entire construction project will cost 466 trillion rupiah ($30 billion).

The president and director of Thales Indonesia, Olivier Rabourdin, stated in a recent interview that his organization offers the services that the new capital's residents were seeking. He went on to say that they wanted to transmit knowledge and expertise in engineering to the future capital city as well.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is the one who came up with the idea to move the capital because he believes it will lessen pressures like pollution and overcrowding in Jakarta. In addition, he anticipates that it will accelerate development in the isolated area of the large island nation where the metropolis is being built.

Nusantara is envisioned by the government as a "green and smart global city," and Jokowi is confident that the project will enable Indonesia to achieve its goal of having zero net carbon emissions by 2060 and advance the country into the developed world.