Ground Breaking Hotel At IKN, Jokowi: Used To Be Javanese Sentris, So Indonesia Sentris

President Jokowi gave a speech at the groundbreaking event for the construction of the Nusantara Hotel in the IKN area, Thursday (21/9/2023). ANTARA/Rangga Pandu

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the heavy burden carried by Java Island had raised difficult problems to solve.

Jokowi conveyed this in his remarks at the groundbreaking event for the construction of the Nusantara Hotel in the Nusantara State Capital (IKN) area, Thursday, September 21.

"The burden is already very heavy so that the problems that arise and are very difficult to resolve," he said, confiscated by Antara.

On that occasion, Jokowi reiterated the reasons for moving the capital city from DKI Jakarta to East Kalimantan.

He said Indonesia has 17 thousand islands, one of which is Java Island which is inhabited by 56 percent of the total population of 273 million people.

"(From) 273 million Indonesians, 56 percent of them are on the island of Java, meaning that approximately 149 million are in Java. And the rest are very small," he said.

Then, Jokowi continued, the majority of gross domestic products are in Java, namely 58 percent, so that a very large economic turnover is in Java.

As a result, Java Island has become a magnet for all Indonesians.

"Everything, everyone, especially to Jakarta. Therefore, this too heavy burden must be reduced, from what we used to be, Central Java, we will withdraw it into a critical Indonesia," he said.

So, he said, there was an equitable distribution of economic growth and equitable distribution of the total population in Indonesia.

"Imagine if Jakarta continues at this time, don't count Jakarta, which has approximately 10 million people, but Jabodetabek has how many million. Maybe now it's almost 30 million," he said.

This means, said the President, the burden is already very heavy, and it causes complex problems, both matters related to congestion, flooding, and currently, more matters related to air pollution are added.

"This is the burden borne by Jakarta and in general by Java Island. Therefore, after going through studies that go back and forth, then we decided to move this capital city from Jakarta to the archipelago to East Kalimantan Province," said Jokowi.