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Jakarta may remain capital for next few years: Ex-IKN authority head

Source
Tempo - October 11, 2024

Dewi Elvia Muthiariny, Jakarta – Bambang Susantono, the former head of the Nusantara Capital (IKN) Authority, estimated that Jakarta will likely remain Indonesia's capital city for the next few years. This statement was made after considering the relocation and development scenarios of IKN recommended by the Indonesian Planning Schools Association (ASPI).

"Personally, I believe that, whether we like it or not, willingly or not, Jakarta will still remain the capital city," he said during a press conference at the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy in Central Jakarta on Friday, October 11, 2024

Bambang, who now serves as the Special Presidential Envoy for IKN International Cooperation, mentioned that Nusantara City might potentially evolve into a specific city. However, he stopped short of providing the details.

"Gradually, we may observe the pace of development and see how Nusantara becomes a specific city," he said.

He considers ASPI's proposal to be realistic and worthy of presentation to various stakeholders involved in the IKN project, particularly President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and President-elect Prabowo Subianto. Among the four concepts developed by ASPI, he favors the Twin Cities concept, which involves two main cities sharing governmental administrative functions for a certain period.

"Within the next five years, we can expect a gradual development, rather than a sudden, mass relocation as previously envisioned," Bambang remarked.

According to him, the Twin Cities concept has been successfully implemented in South Korea, with Seoul as the capital city and Sejong as the definitive capital. Malaysia also employs a similar scheme to Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. It is considered feasible to implement this approach of two supporting cities for the country.

ASPI's calculations are based on two strategic variables: the decision to move the national capital from Jakarta to IKN and the budget availability for the mega project. The combination of these variables leads to four alternative scenarios.

The first scenario is the ideal scenario, where the capital relocation is decided to be carried out with sufficient funding. The second scenario, Opportunity 1, involves the relocation of the capital not yet being determined, even though the budget is adequate.

The third scenario, Opportunity 2, entails the capital relocation being implemented but with insufficient funding. The fourth scenario, the challenge scenario, indicates that the relocation of the capital city cannot be carried out due to insufficient budget.

– Defara Dhanya Paramitha

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1927445/jakarta-may-remain-capital-for-next-few-years-ex-ikn-authority-hea

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