Anies: Moving The Capital City Will Not Reduce Congestion In Jakarta

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan assesses that traffic jams in Jakarta will not be reduced even though the nation's capital has been moved to East Kalimantan.

Because, said Anies, the mobility of government activities in Jakarta only contributes less than 7 percent of the volume of traffic jams every day.

"For Jakarta, it is not the status of the capital that is important because it is only about the location of the central government. In fact, talking about congestion, the government's contribution to congestion in Jakarta is less than 7 percent. So, there will be no effect on congestion in Jakarta," said Anies in the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government Youtube channel, quoted on Friday, January 28.

Anies then talked about the face of Jakarta after relinquishing the status of the capital city. Anies said, Jakarta has become the center of household and business activities, this is one of the causes of Jakarta's unavoidable traffic jams.

Therefore, Anies said the challenge that will be faced by Jakarta now is how this metropolitan city can become one of the world's global cities that serve global needs.

"Jakarta is the largest megapolitan city in the southern hemisphere of the world. But this megapolitan consists of Jakarta, Bekasi Raya, Tangerang Raya, and Depok as one unit, so administratively we are variations but in terms of the role of Jakarta, the largest megapolitan city in the south of the world," said Anies.

Therefore, in the context of the preparation of the Regional Development Plan (RPD) of the DKI Jakarta Province for 2023-2026, Anies wants Jakarta to become an international economic and business center. At that time, Anies' term as Governor of DKI had ended.

"Jakarta is currently donating 18 percent of the national GDP. If we can continue to make efficiency in our economic activities, this leap will be even stronger because the international gateway remains in Jakarta," he explained.

The preparation of the RPD is expected to make Jakarta the center of the economy, education, and health. RPD is not only related to administrative matters as well as continuing existing programs but also considers Jakarta's position in the orbit of the world's megapolitan cities.

"So, in reality, Jakarta will undergo a transformation. But, for Jakarta, it's not really that status that matters. Now we are talking about how Jakarta can become one of the world's global cities, serving global needs. This is our challenge now," said Anies.