IKN and Kertajati Airport are considered as a reflection of the planning cultural crisis

JAKARTA - Professor of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering (FTSL) of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Harun Al Rasyid Lubis assessed that Indonesia is experiencing a planning culture crisis which resulted in a number of strategic projects including IKN and Kertajati Airport losing direction.

Harun highlighted the contradiction between the government's ambitious targets, such as Net Zero Emission (NZE) 2060 to the development of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN), with the often fragmented technical reality on the ground.

"There is a plan, there are many. Jakarta wants 60 percent of public transportation, maybe (later) West Java. That's all the plans," said Harun when met after a discussion on strategic infrastructure in Bandung, quoted by Antara, Saturday, April 18.

According to him, the construction of IKN emerged suddenly in the law without being preceded by a mature urban planning foundation, including in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).

"We talk about the city but we don't have urban laws. We should have city laws, IKN is one of the city planning strategies," he said.

In addition to IKN, Harun took the example of the operational failure of Kertajati Airport in West Java. According to him, the problem at the airport stems from an immature feasibility study.

"So there is a mismatch between the infrastructure that is built and the market needs," he said.

Another fundamental weakness, continued Harun, is the absence of a strong supervisory agency or "referee" to bridge the various sectoral egos between the central, provincial, and regional governments.

This eventually led to many master plans ending up as a pile of documents without realization.

Harun also urged a clear separation between the functions of regulators and operators in every infrastructure project to ensure accountability.

"One that regulates, sees the future, plans. Another that operates. Don't combine," said Harun, emphasizing the importance of the independence of the control function so that implementation remains consistent with the initial plan.