TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that his ministry will step up the work to build the new capital city in 2020, as long as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo obtains a permit from the House of Representatives (DPR).

“Perhaps not the physical form, but the most important is the basic infrastructure, the road. We will build the road first,” said Basuki in the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economy, Jakarta, Tuesday, May 14. In addition to road construction, another basic infrastructure is clean water.

According to Basuki, the public will later see the city structure and which zone to be built by the government and the private party after the road construction. “We have designated the spatial planning for the private party so we will prepare the road first,” he added.

The construction of new capital city will be financed using State Budget, besides from private parties and State-owned Enterprises (SOE).

Basuki planned to gather several parties to design the new capital, such as architects and artists. “We will likely hold a series of workshops on planning, masterplan, up to detailed design,” he said.

The concept of the future administrative center, he continued, would either be a green city, smart city, or compact city, and that will be intensively studied in 2020.

The PUPR Ministry has drafted the design for the new capital since the past one and a half year. “But it’s not based on the local wisdom yet,” Basuki said.

The minister earlier assigned a team consisting of seven architects to draft the design. As for the more detailed concept, he asked the help from the Indonesian Architects Association (IAI).

“I will meet IAI, and they will later be invited to the Palace by President to explain what the future Presidential Palace will become,” Basuki said, adding that the design will depend on the needs of a capital city, such as the defense until the office efficiency.

CAESAR AKBAR | DIAS PRASONGKO