Infrastructure-led development, reterritorialisation and the reconfiguration of state spatial strategies in Indonesia

In many parts of the Global South, infrastructure has emerged as a central instrument of state spatial strategies and a key terrain of political contestation. In Indonesia, this shift is articulated through the National Strategic Projects (Proyek Strategis Nasional – PSN), a policy framework that accelerates hundreds of large-scale infrastructure projects across the archipelago. This article argues that PSN constitutes a deliberate project of reterritorialisation, through which the state aims to reshape regional economies, reinforce its authority and reorganise the spatial configuration of development. Drawing on an analysis of policy documents and regulatory frameworks, this study demonstrates that these megaprojects institutionalise the state's spatial selectivity by privileging advanced regions and reinforcing regional disparities. Furthermore, the paper argues that reterritorialisation is not only enacted through the realisation of megaprojects but also discursively and legally produced through national policy frameworks that actively construct spatial priorities and legitimise urban development interventions.