National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa said to build the capital city is unlike rubbing Aladdin’s magic lamp. Even the integrated city in South Tangerang took around 20 years to complete.
By
NINA SUSILO
·3 minutes read
DOKUMENTASI BAPPENAS
Minister of National Development Planning Suharso Monoarfa during a discussion with the media crew about the 2022 Development Goals and Government Work Plan, at the Bappenas Building, Jakarta, Thursday (2/9/2021).
On Wednesday (29/9/2021), the government planned to deliver the Presidential Letter introducing the Bill on the Capital of the State (IKN) to the House of Representatives (DPR). The Bill will regulate the development, financing method and management of the new capital city.
In a special online interview with Kompas on Tuesday evening (28/9), National Development Planning Minister/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa acknowledged that discussions on the new capital had invited arguments regarding the pros and cons of the project. Suharso stated that the government had considered the input, including the various limitations arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The interview is excerpted below.
What issues will the IKN Bill regulate?
The bill will regulate the IKN status, its relocation, principles of management, such as new autonomous regions, its territorial coverage, territorial borders, master plan, the IKN management vision, spatial layout, land and most importantly the environment and disaster control. As a city, it is appropriate to be an autonomous region but with more specific management.
In broad outlines, what will the executive of the capital be like?
Let me give an idea, like a new autonomous region, it is headed by a governor and the first governor is elected by the DPR. Then it becomes a constituency but only at the national level, with no regency/city or provincial constituencies there.
Its fiscal partner is the DPR because [the executive] is directly responsible to the President.
We also want to demonstrate various facilities to enable faster decision making. There will be an exclusive economic zone and others so that with one command everything can be executed rapidly.
Kompas
Aerial photo of Balang Island bridge in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, Wednesday (10/03/2021). This bridge connects Balikpapan and North Penajam Paser via Balikpapan Bay. The government plans a location in North Penajam Paser as the new capital.
The State Budget (APBN) has several times undergone refocusing to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and big state financial deficits in the last two years. We will also organize general elections and regional elections in 2024. How will IKN development allocation be managed?
The government fully realizes that we are facing the pandemic and that in 2024, for the first time, presidential elections, legislative elections and regional elections will be integrated. The pandemic will remain our concern. Besides, two issues will continue to be the government’s ultimate ongoing concern – extreme poverty and unemployment.
The social transfer commitment will be carried on as long as the pandemic prevails. How will the IKN relocation be funded? We will extensively utilize the existing financing resources. The APBN will be minimally spent.
Building this capital city is unlike rubbing Aladdin’s magic lamp. Even the integrated city in South Tangerang took around 20 years to complete.
The IKN Bill is just going to be discussed with the DPR, while preparations and the city project have begun. What happens if in the deliberation with the DPR some provisions are subjected to alterations?
This bill has a limited number of articles. Many things have been regulated by other laws. It is thus only concerned with the capital city, its development, funding and future management.
Far from being arrogant, I believe our partners in the DPR will clearly perceive this prospect. It’s not due to the government’s strong coalition, but rather to the opportunity given to them to objectively evaluate the bill and intelligently exchange arguments.
