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THE construction of Indonesia’s new capital city (IKN) Nusantara in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, continues to make progress, reaching 71.47% for phase I so far. The work to build the Presidential Palace and ceremony grounds, as part of the phase I of infrastructure construction, is 54.07% complete.
According to data from the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN), as of January 2024, four phases of groundbreaking have been agreed upon. The first phase of groundbreaking was carried out on September 21-23, 2023, with an investment value of IDR22.90 trillion (around US$1.46 billion), for the construction of a hotel, a hospital, an international football training center, and a multifunction building.
On November 1-2, 2023, the government carried out the second phase of groundbreaking for several construction projects in Nusantara, including a hospital, a school, and a solar power plant, with an investment value of IDR15.57 trillion (around US$999.38 million).
The third phase of groundbreaking was carried out on November 20-21, 2024, including the construction of a military command office, a police station, and a hospital. The total investment value is IDR4.78 trillion (around US$306.76 million).
The fourth phase of groundbreaking was then carried out on January 17, 2024, with an investment value of IDR4.26 trillion (around US$273.39 million). The fourth phase of groundbreaking covers the groundbreaking of several construction projects, including the office of the OIKN, the headquarters of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), and a state mosque. The total investment value from the four phases of the groundbreaking reached IDR47.5 trillion (around US$30.4 billion).
OIKN Head Bambang Susantono ensured that the process of Nusantara’s development is running, and people keen to witness the progress can pay a visit to the new capital. However, the number of visitors is limited to avoid work accidents, and the schedule must be adjusted.
“Many people always ask: is (Nusantara development) really carried out? I always say that seeing is believing. Please come here to see,” he remarked.
Livable lovable city
Nusantara is built with the smart forest city concept, aimed at responding to future challenges. Thus, it can support various people’s needs as a livable and lovable city. With the smart city concept, there will be 100% information technology connectivity that will make it easier for people to work, access services, and do business.
Susantono cited as an example that later, people would not need to visit a village office for public service matters and instead, they could get things done by using an application.
“Therefore, related things, for instance, telemedicine for medical treatment or order medicines and others can be done (and it is) in our hands,” he further explained.
So far, several programs have been implemented under the efforts to actualize the creation of Nusantara as a smart forest city. For instance, the government has introduced the “Work from IKN” program to introduce and give an opportunity to civil servants to experience working from the new capital where they can enjoy green scenery with a low pollution level.
Through the program, they can witness firsthand the progress in Nusantara’s development, and this is also a way to adapt and prepare themselves for moving to the city later.
Apart from that, there are also several programs for the public, such as the Coding Mum, Coding Difabel, and Solar Mumn training program for mothers, teenage girls, and people with disabilities.
The training program is held to support Nusantara’s vision as a “World City for All”, give a digital perspective of technology, and improve independence in processing energy and developing local businesses.
For instance, housewives are trained to create a website, so that they can sell cakes or souvenirs digitally. Thus, it is expected to provide benefits to families and the community, in general, so that Nusantara can become one of the driving forces for Indonesia’s economy and development in the future.
Meanwhile, the actualization of the forest city concept is the reforestation efforts to restore the forest ecosystem to avoid potential environmental damages in the process of Nusantara’s development. Later, the physical infrastructure construction of Nusantara will only use 25 % of the area, while the rest will remain as a production forest area.
The OIKN head reported that various parties are keen to take part in the reforestation efforts, such as online media, data, and research company Katadata Indonesia and environmental startup company Jejakin.
The effort is the result of the “Green Movement: Nusanatara Green Belt” collaborative action, which is a joint action for planting and nursing trees as well as empowering local communities.
To support the action, the government has inaugurated the Mentawir Nursery that has a capacity of 15-20 million trees per year to green the new capital. The realization of the Green Sustainable Forest City concept in Nusantara is based on three road maps.
First, a roadmap for climate change with international standards was launched at the “Conference of the Parties 28 (COP-28)” meeting in Dubai in late 2023. Several world organizations will support the government’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality in Nusantara by 2045.
The second road map is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) road map that will be launched at a United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) event to be held in February 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The road map includes efforts to achieve several SDGs until 2030 and beyond, such as realizing women’s empowerment or creating a child-friendly city in Nusantara.
The last road map is a road map on biodiversity that will be launched in March 2024 in line with International Forest Day to monitor biodiversity-related developments every year.
In its efforts to create a smart forest city, the government ensured that it would respect local wisdom in the Nusantara area. For instance, some of the efforts made are holding art shows with local culture and carrying out the tourism village program that enables people to sample the local cuisine.
“We must think that Nusantara is Indonesia-centric. It should not be Java-centric and Kalimantan-centric. Yet, we want to raise the local culture in several things, including our daily life,” Susantono affirmed.
Development of the new capital is ongoing. As a symbol of Indonesia’s advancement, the city is being prepared to proffer the best benefits to the country, including supporting the realization of the 2045 Golden Indonesia vision. [antaranews/photo special]
