Jakarta Has The Ambition To Become A Top 20 Global City In 2045, Here's The Key

JAKARTA - The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of DKI Jakarta has ambitions to make this city a better ranking in the world arena. One of the targets to be achieved is to make Jakarta the top 20 global cities in 2045.

The Indonesian Kearney International Economic Research Institute & Consultant said that at least six pillars must be considered by the Jakarta Provincial Government.

President Director & Partner of Kearney Indonesia Shirley Santoso said the first pillar is business and economic. He considered, in the future, what will Jakarta be used as, for example as an industrial city or something else.

"So, what kind of vertical industry wants to focus on a city. Now, this can be an example of service industry, value added industry or is it healthcare, digital, economic creative economy and so on. So, that's from a business and economic perspective," said Shirley at a press conference in Jakarta, Tuesday, July 15.

The second pillar is how Jakarta can develop coastal areas, aka coastal development. According to Shirley, most global cities, for example, Tokyo have developed coastal areas well.

"Coastal development has a very important role, because that is also where there is a port (definitely) there is potential from tourism industry and so on," he said.

Then, Jakarta must also pay attention to factors that drive economic growth, one of which can attract foreign investment.

"We see a lot of them, especially the cities in China, how the special economic zone can support the extraordinary development of the city. Well, this similarly is something the global city must think about how to attract investment from outside," he explained.

The third pillar is about the quality of the people who work in the city. Based on the Global City Index, said Shirley, society or workforce in the city is one of the most important elements.

"Why? Because if the quality of the talent is good, (later) it can also attract companies to invest and operate in the city. So, in terms of education level, future ready workforce can race forward industries or more forward thinking," explained Shirley.

In this pillar, Jakarta must also prepare to become a disability-friendly city or disability friendly and be able to provide housing at affordable prices.

"We also see a lot of transformation of the city, where these affordable houses are one of the keys. Built in strategic areas of the city, close to public transportation and driving the economy," he said.

"So, this can provide convenience for the community," he continued.

The fourth pillar is tourism and branding. Based on Kearney Indonesia's analysis, said Shirley, global cities such as Paris, Tokyo to Shanghai have prepared herself to become a city with its own tariff power.

Thus, people who travel to the city are not only for transit, but can stay for a long time.

"So, people go to the city not only for transit and only stay for 1-2 days, but can stay longer because there are many tourism attractions that can be visited in the city," he explained.

Furthermore, Shirley assessed, currently Jakarta is slowly starting to dress up. One of them is by beautifying the Old Town area.

"Well, this is very important to be able to rank a global city," he explained.

The fifth pillar is regarding environmental conditions and sustainability. According to Shirley, Jakarta leaders must be able to prepare the city to become a comfortable place for their people to live.

Currently, continued Shirley, the availability of a green environment in Jakarta is only about 5 percent. This means that this figure is still far from the average owned by global cities in the world, which is 20-30 percent.

"Then in terms of sustainable operations, water management, number of pipes, water pipe, waste management, better and also disaster resilience," he explained.

Meanwhile, the sixth or last pillar is adequate infrastructure and easy mobility. "So, how can the community be easy in terms of transportation," he explained.

According to Shirley, the use of public transportation in Jakarta is still less than 20 percent. This means that there are still many people who prefer private vehicles.

"Well, if you want to be a global city more competitive, this must be improved. Well, the ease of transportation is one of the frameworks for a city that is far global, and of course digital infrastructure and physical infrastructure and assets," he concluded.