TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Land Agency (BPN) is currently drafting a regulation draft the establishment of the Land Bank together with respective stakeholders. The regulation is expected to be completed around February or March 2017.
"After that, [we] will implement plans to establish the Land Bank," said Budi Situmorang, Director General of Spatial Planning to Tempo on Tuesday, December 20, 2016.
The regulation will be the main guideline for all state institutions in fulfilling their need of land for infrastructure development. Budi said currently, all respective stakeholders are discussing ways to finance land acquisition, including mapping land ownership and land needs.
Himawan Arief Sugoto, an expert staff of the Land and Spatial Planning Ministry said that the Land Bank may be funded by the 2017 State Budget. In the regulation draft bill, the Land Bank will have three methods to acquire lands, including exercising its judicial authorities, using funds from the State budget and converting land use, or by involving the public "in the form of land trade, and consolidation of flats," according to Himawan.
However, Himawan stated that traded lands must have proper economic value. "If the land does not have anything on it, then there has to be road [access]," Himawan explained.
Himawan said that land acquisition will refer to the synchronization of strategic national projects and the national spatial planning. Himawan expected that there will be 4 million hectares of neglected land that can be acquired by the Land Bank. "If [the lands] are not being used, it will be made available for development purposes," Himawan said.
ALI HIDAYAT
