JAKARTA, Aug 16, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo hailed his
economic track record on Friday in a final state of the nation address before
he leaves office in October after a decade in power.

Widodo, more popularly known as Jokowi, will be replaced by defence chief
Prabowo Subianto after serving the maximum two terms, with more than three-
quarters of Indonesians approving of his rule in recent opinion polls.

He will leave office with an economic legacy of consistent growth of about
five percent and large infrastructure projects including roads, bridges and
airports aimed at better connecting the archipelago.

"In the past 10 years, we have been able to build a new foundation and
civilisation, with Indonesia-centred development, building from peripheries,
building from villages, and building from outermost areas," he told lawmakers
in capital Jakarta.

Widodo, raised in a bamboo shack in a riverside slum on Indonesia's biggest
island of Java, said his government had built 50 new ports and airports, 1.1
million hectares of irrigation canals and 2,700 kilometres (1,677 miles) of
new toll roads.

"Our economic growth has been maintained at around five percent, even though
many countries are not growing or even slowing down," he said, adding
inflation had held steady between 2 and 3 percent despite the Covid-19
pandemic.

He did not mention his final legacy project, Nusantara, the newly planned
capital city on Borneo island that is to replace sinking and traffic-clogged
Jakarta as the country's political centre this year.

The $32-billion megaproject has faced building delays and funding woes that
have cast doubt on the schedule.

An official decree moving the capital from Jakarta could be delayed until
after his successor Prabowo takes office.

Despite economic progress, Jokowi faced criticism in the build-up to
February's presidential election for what some called an attempt to create
his own political dynasty.

His son Gibran Rakabuming Raka will serve as Prabowo's vice president after
candidate eligibility rules were changed by Jokowi's brother-in-law and then-
chief justice, allowing his 36-year-old offspring to run for office.

"Ten years is not a long period to solve all problems in our nation," Jokowi
said.

"It is very possible that I have committed a lot of mistakes," he added,
apologising to his critics.