Jokowi names Penajam Paser as new capital city site

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has named Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kertanegara in East Kalimantan Province as the sites of the new capital city.

"We have concluded that the most ideal location for the new capital city is partly in Penajam Paser Utara District and partly in Kutai Kertanegara District," Jokowi revealed at a press conference at the State Palace here on Monday, flanked by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Jokowi reiterated that the government had conducted studies on candidates of the new capital city in Kalimantan Island.

He elaborated that East Kalimantan had met the requirements to be the new capital city that entail minimum risk of natural disaster and located at the heart of Indonesia. The site is also close to big cities, such as Balikpapan and Samarinda, and it has 180 thousand hectares of government-owned land.

According to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), development of the new capital city will be started in 2021, and the construction of government buildings is targeted for completion in 2024.

Attendees at the press conference comprised National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor, and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil had earlier noted that the government will require three thousand hectares of land to construct government offices in the first stage of development of the new capital city.

The project is expected to cost up to Rp466 trillion (US$32.3 billion) to be covered by the State Budget (Rp74.44 trillion), Public Private Partnership scheme (Rp265.2 trillion), and private investment (Rp127.3 trillion).(*)