Not Sure Jakarta Will Hold Formula E Again Next Year

DS Penske team racer Maximilian Gunther's first free practice Formula E World Championship season 11 at JIEC, Jakarta, Friday 20 June 2025. (ANTARA PHOTO-Bayu Pratama S)

JAKARTA - The implementation of Formula E or Jakarta E-Prix in 2025 will be completed on Saturday, June 21, 2025. So far, Jakarta has held the electric car racing event for 3 times in 3 years.

President Director of PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) Iwan Takwin admitted that his party as the BUMD organizer of Formula E in Jakarta could not confirm whether the electric car race would be held again next year.

However, Jakpro is still communicating with Formula E Operation (FEO) as the license holder of Formula E.

"Negotiation, technical guidance, communication, then discussion, that's how we continue. So it hasn't been decided yet. It's called negotiations, communication is running," Iwan told reporters, Tuesday, June 24.

In the initial contract with Formula E Operation, Jakpro agreed to hold 3 Formula E races in Jakarta since 2022. Then, the third year of 2024 was postponed due to entering the 2024 General Election and Regional Head Election season, so it was postponed to 2025.

So far, the communication material between Jakpro and FEO is still evaluating the implementation of Formula E which was held at the Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit, Ancol, last weekend.

"We are still talking about how to review yesterday, what we have to learn from yesterday. Then they also gave advice, we also gave input, right. So communication is from normal, professional B2B right," said Iwan.

Formula E planning in Jakarta was originally echoed not to run smoothly. In 2019, after former DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan revealed that Jakarta would hold Formula E, it turns out that the DKI Provincial Government had to spend a budget of around Rp560 billion from the APBD for the payment of the commitment fee.

Thus, Formula E was rejected by a number of members of the DKI Jakarta DPRD because it was considered a waste of the APBD with the resulting economic impact not comparable.

Formula E has also been postponed for 2 years since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, in 2022 or the last year of Anies serving as Governor of DKI, Formula E was held for the first time in Jakarta.