Rigorous Preparation for the New Capital
The relocation of the national capital to East Kalimantan must be done through rigorous and good planning. There are still many things that must be done to realize that plan.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The relocation of the capital city of the Republic of Indonesia from Jakarta to East Kalimantan, which is supposed to be completed by 2024, requires preparation and well planned steps. There are nine laws that must be revised or made to realize the plan.
At the same time, a number of negative possibilities, such as the presence of land speculators, land encroachment or uncontrolled forest clearing that threatens the environment, must be immediately anticipated in the area of the country\'s new capital city.
The budgets for the relocation must also be prepared and outlined clearly so as not to cause political prejudice and speculation.
Those steps are urgent because President Joko Widodo on Monday (26/8/2019) at the State Palace, Jakarta, announced that the government had determined the capital city would be relocated.
"The government has conducted an in-depth study and we have intensified the study in the last three years. The results of the study conclude that the most ideal location of the new capital city is partly in North Penajam Paser regency and partly in Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan," the President said.
The presidential office, some ministries and state institutions, including the House of Representatives (DPR), are suppose to move to East Kalimantan in 2024.
To relocate the national capital, which among other reasons is intended for a more equal spread of development and to reduce the burden on Jakarta and the island of Java, a budget of about Rp 466 trillion is needed. The budget will come from the state budget, the private sector and public-private partnership schemes.
Meanwhile, Jakarta will continue to be developed as a business city, financial city, trade and service center, on a regional and global scale. For this purpose, the Jakarta provincial administration will continue the plan to carry out urban regeneration with a budget of about Rp 571 trillion.
Regulations
House of Representatives Commission II chairman Zainudin Amali said the House had no objections to the planned relocation of the national capital.
"Sooner or later, we must do this. The government must have the calculations and assessments. Now we are waiting for the results of the study before discussing the steps together," said Amali.
Regarding the relocation of the national capital, referring to the study of the directorate general of regional autonomy at the Home Affairs Ministry, there are at least five laws that need to be revised, two laws can be either revised or made from scratch and two new laws written.
The five laws that need to be revised are Law No. 29/2007 concerning the Jakarta provincial administration as the Capital of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 24/2007 on Disaster Mitigation, Law No. 3/2002 on National Defense, Law No. 23/2014 concerning Local Administration and Law No. 10/2016 concerning Election of Regional Heads.
Two laws that can be revised or made from scratch are the Law on Spatial Planning in the National Capital and the Law on Land Management in the National Capital. Meanwhile, the laws that must be written are a law on the name of the region chosen as the national capital and a law on cities.
In addition to being the legal basis for the relocation of the capital, those laws are also needed to ensure that the process of relocating the capital city continues despite a change of government.
Amali said that the nine laws could be discussed and finished before the capital city was officially relocated in 2024.
The chairperson of the Indonesian Real Estate (REI), Soelaeman Soemawinata, said here on Monday that relocating the country\'s capital requires legal certainty and policy consistency. "The private sector will join in the area’s development if there is legal certainty and ease of licensing," he said.
In addition, the relocation of the capital city must be followed up immediately with land arrangements and land price controls to avoid land speculation. "The government needs to secure land from the land speculators and to ensure a land ownership scheme so that developers can come in peacefully [to develop] lands that have been secured by the government," he said.
The price of land in the area that will be developed into a new national capital has started to rise lately. Residents also began to secure their land.
The relocation of the national capital followed by the relocation of the state civil apparatus is a potential market for the development of housing and supporting facilities. However, the development of a new city takes a long time.
Preparation
Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil said, for the relocation of the capital city, the government has prepared a land area of 180,000 hectares. In addition to the national capital area, the land is allocated for various supporting facilities, including a green area. "Most of the land belongs to the state. So, it is relatively easy to prepare the land," he said.
All land to be used will be immediately stipulated in the gubernatorial regulations. "After the issuance of the regulations, we will do land freezing," Sofyan said.
National Development Planning Agency head Bambang PS Brodjonegoro explained the development of the ministry\'s office and state institutions will require 4,000 to 6,000 hectares of land. The first phase of development covers a core area, which is 4,000 hectares of land.
East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor said the people and the East Kalimantan provincial administration are ready to carry out the relocation of the capital to its territory. He believes the positive impact of the development of the national capital in Kalimantan will also be felt in other regions in central and eastern Indonesia. "I am sure there are many positive impacts. Not only in East Kalimantan, but also in central and eastern Indonesia because its position is in the middle of Indonesia," Isran said.
However, senior economist Emil Salim said he believes that the current government should not prioritize the relocation of the national capital in the next five years. The government should focus on developing human resources. Emil believes, in terms of the use of the budget, human resource development would have more economic impact than the relocation of the capital city. (LAS/REK/LKT/ARN/MED/ APO/AGE/DVD/EDN/SAN)