JAKARTA – The Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) has denied allegations that the Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN) is not selling well.
The objection was conveyed by the Ministerial Expert Staff for Technology, Industry and Environment of the Ministry of PUPR Endra S. Atmawidjaja.
He said that the government itself has not yet officially settled at IKN, which will serve as the new capital of Indonesia.
“People are talking about investors not wanting to enter IKN. Yes, obviously, since the government itself has not yet settled,” said Endra to The Editor in Jakarta.
Currently, he continued, the government is spiritedly building infrastructure to support IKN.
One of them is a flat for the state civil apparatus (ASN) who will work full-time there.
The government, said Endra again, prioritizes domestic investors to participate in the development of the IKN area.
If these local investors have met the quota standards, then foreign investors will be invited to get in as supporters to the IKN projects.
“Why haven’t foreigners come? Because we prioritize domestic ones first. We sometimes jump too far in our thinking. If local investors have settled, then foreign investors can come,” he said.
IKN Is Planned to Become a Space for Geniuses to Grow
Endra said that the government is currently working on a plan to make IKN a city that attracts young geniuses.
To support this plan, he said, the government will build campuses and universities with international standards in the IKN area.
Young people who are talented in the field of digital technology and the digital economy are one of the targets that the government wants to work in IKN.
IKN is claimed to be the first city in Indonesia to use green and modern technology like cities in South Korea.
“That’s what’s different at IKN – the vision for the future and the technology vision. So people who are talented in the digital economy, digital technology, basically the genius of Indonesia is there. Indonesia’s smart people should be there,” he said.
Java Island is Overcrowded
Endra revealed that one of the reasons why the capital is being moved to Kalimantan was because Jakarta has already been considered too crowded with human population.
One example of this overcrowding is the crowding of river and lake banks by humans.
“We don’t want to flood Java with people. There must be a balance between human and nature,” he said.
The overcrowding, according to Endra, will not make people who live in urban areas feel comfortable.
On the other hand, developed countries have made people feel comfortable living in cities for decades.
“We must maintain the comfort of people living in Jakarta. That’s why we are creating a new city in Kalimantan so that it is not Java-centric, let alone Jakarta-centric,” he concluded.
