Jakarta Wants To Be A Special Region After The National Capital Moves

DKI Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Paria/Photo: VOI

JAKARTA - The government and the DPR have confirmed the plan to move the state capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan by ratifying the Draft Law on the State Capital (RUU IKN) into law.

Then, what will happen to Jakarta after this? What is clear is that the Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta, Ahmad Riza Patria, wants Jakarta to remain comfortable to live in.

"Even though it's not the capital city, we believe that Jakarta will still be a good, comfortable, safe place," said Riza at DKI Jakarta City Hall, Tuesday, January 18.

Riza stated his commitment to continue to beautify Jakarta while ensuring the integration of transportation in DKI. Not only that, it will also continue to carry out flood management.

Even though it will no longer be the nation's capital, Riza said the DKI Provincial Government projects Jakarta to become a special area as a city center for economy and trade.

This, said Riza, would later be proposed to the central government, before Law No. 29 of 2007 concerning the Provincial Government of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta as the capital of the Republic of Indonesia was revised.

"We will propose that Jakarta can still be a special area even though it is not the capital city. We hope that Jakarta can become an economic center, a center for education. That is important for Jakarta and also Indonesia. We will consult with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bappenas, DPR, and of course with the President," he clear.

To achieve this, Riza said the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan would involve experts to formulate a projection for Jakarta's development after relinquishing the status of the state capital.

"We are discussing this, we are formulating it. The Governor will also involve experts to formulate, together with the public, what kind of Jakarta should ideally be," said Riza.

As is known, the Indonesian House of Representatives has officially approved the Draft Law on the State Capital (RUU IKN) to become a law. Therefore, it is possible to move the capital city from Jakarta to East Kalimantan (Kaltim).

The approval was taken at the 13th plenary meeting of the DPR RI for the third trial period 2021-2022 which was held with the government on Tuesday, January 18.

The initial stage of relocating IKN to East Kalimantan takes place in 2022-2024, namely in the form of major infrastructure development such as the presidential palace, MPR/DPR buildings, and housing in main areas.

In the IKN pocket book, it is even written that there was an initial transfer of state civil apparatus (ASN), including the TNI, Polri, and MPR, until the president moved to the new capital before August 16, 2024.

The next phase of relocation runs in 2025-2035 through core development, such as the development of the next phase of the city in the form of an innovation center to developing priority economic sectors.

At this stage, the government is targeting the completion of the transfer of the central government to East Kalimantan, meaning that the transfer must be completed in a maximum of 13 years.

The next stage in 2035-2045 is the development of the entire infrastructure and ecosystem of the three cities to accelerate the development of East Kalimantan, including increasing connectivity between and within cities. The government even targets that at this stage IKN can become the number one foreign investment destination and enter the top five main destinations in Southeast Asia for global talent. In 2045 and beyond, the government projects IKN to achieve net zero-carbon emission by using 100 percent of renewable energy at capacity installed. Unmitigated, the government has set it to be the first city in the world with a population of over 1 million people to achieve this target, even though Indonesia is still very dependent on fossil energy.