Avoiding Speculators, New Capital City Location Kept on Secret

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Bambang Brodjonegoro, expressed one of the reasons why the government is currently concealing the new location of the future capital city is to avoid land speculation.

Bambang only confirmed that the location would be outside of the Java Island.

Read: President Yet to Reveal Capital City Relocation Plans

He explained that the agency is currently conducting a preliminary study which focuses on institutional frameworks, regulation, and investment. “We will not exclusively depend on the State Budget, we’ll prepare a scheme to involve the participation of the private sector,” Bambang said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Commission XI of the House of Representatives, Marcus Mekeng, established his support in moving the capital city. “Politically I agree,” said Mekeng.

Read: Moving Capital City will Take 5 Years: Bappenas

“We can witness for ourselves that Jakarta is already too crowded, and it doesn’t make people comfortable doing business here,” he argued. Bambang further revealed that many investors opt to conduct their business in Hongkong or Singapore instead of in Indonesia.

Bambang views the move as something normal considering that many countries have adopted this type of scheme where its government is separated with their business central such as the United States with New York and Washington D.C., Australia with Canberra and Sydney. He hoped that the Indonesian capital city could follow on those examples.

GHOIDA RAHMAH