There Is A Discourse On The Development Of A 778 Meter BUMN Tower In IKN, Minister Basuki: Ridwan Kamil's Idea

JAKARTA - Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono explained the beginning of the plan to build a 778 meter (m) tower in the capital city of Nusantara (IKN).

Basuki said the development discourse called 'BUMN Tower' appeared when Ridwan Kamil, who is the curator of IKN's construction, glamped with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in Nusantara, East Kalimantan.

"That was when I did glamping twice before (groundbreaking) yesterday, then yesterday (groundbreaking). Well, glamping, that was when Mr. Ridwan Kamil first joined and chatted that night," said Basuki at his office, Friday, June 7.

Even so, Basuki did not specify when the glamping would be done.

The reason is, before visiting IKN in March 2024, Ridwan Kamil visited twice, namely in March 2022 when he was still the Governor of West Java and on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.

It is known, during his visit in November 2023, Ridwan Kamil was specially invited to see the progress of IKN development firsthand.

Basuki confirmed that Ridwan Kamil's visit was a momentum for the discourse on the development of the BUMN Tower in IKN to emerge.

"(Currently) it has not been entered (the master plan discussion). There is no (discussion) yet," he said.

According to Basuki, currently the government has not determined the location of the BUMN Tower at IKN.

He revealed that his party was still discussing with SOE Minister Erick Thohir about the discourse.

"It's in the discussion stage with the Minister of SOEs," he said.

When asked further whether the arrival of the founder of Emaar Properties as the owner of Burj Khalifa, Mohamed Ali Rasheed Alabbar, was aimed at building a State-Owned Enterprises Tower, Basuki denied it. According to him, the presence of Alabbar is aimed at other projects.

"Oh, it has nothing to do with the arrival of Burj Khalifa's owner", he added.