41,493 Hectares Of Forest To Be Released For The Replacement Capital City Of Jakarta 'IKN Nusantara'

Ahead of the Kendi Nusantara ritual event at the zero point of the National Capital (IKN) Nusantara in Sepaku District, North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, in March 2022. (ANTARA-Hafidz Mubarak A)

KALTIM - Thousands of hectares of forest area will be released for the location of the National Capital (IKN) of the Archipelago. The forest is located in parts of the North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regencies, East Kalimantan (Kaltim).

Head of the Nusantara IKN Authority Agency, Bambang Susantono, said that the forest for the replacement capital city of DKI Jakarta is 41,493 hectares.

The status of the area is production forest which can be converted and then released to IKN Nusantara to be converted into Other Use Areas (APL). Based on the Antara report, APL is an area outside the forest area or forestry sector that is prepared for the IKN location.

The release of production forest areas that can be converted, he said, must have a letter of application from the Nusantara IKN Authority Agency to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (LHK).

Before submitting the letter for releasing the convertible production forest area, Bambang said his party confirmed the coordinates or boundaries of the forest area to be released for the IKN location.

Regarding the letter of application for the release of convertible production forest areas, he said, the transition team and IKN transfer were still being discussed with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and other relevant ministries.

"We are still discussing which areas are included in forest areas or not," said Bambang.

He hopes that the production discussion will be completed quickly so that the convertible production forest area will soon be released as the location for IKN Nusantara.

Infrastructure development in the core area of the IKN government center, said Bambang Susantono, is still waiting for the release of convertible production forests from the Ministry of LHK.