Towards a Global Center of Business and Trade

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A woman poses for a photograph on Wednesday evening (21/8/2019) from the vantage point of a balcony at Taman Budaya 2 Dukuh Atas in South Jakarta. The government has expressed its commitment to continue developing Jakarta as a center of regional and international business and trade.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said that the government is committed to Jakarta as a development priority in transforming the current capital into a hub of regional and global business and trade. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan is to lead the 10-year Jakarta Urban Regeneration project, worth Rp 571 trillion (US$40.06 billion).

“Like President Joko Widodo said, Jakarta will continue to be developed under the urban regeneration concept with Rp 571 trillion in funding from the city budget, the state budget and [government-private sector] partnerships. It is hoped that Jakarta will become a business and trade hub, like New York in the United States,” Kalla, who is also the Jakarta Urban Regeneration project advisor, said on Tuesday (27/8/2019) in Jakarta.

Kalla said that project discussions had been ongoing at his office since March and involved multilateral coordination between ministries, state bodies, the Jakarta administration and technical agencies. In a limited Cabinet meeting at the presidential palace complex, the President agreed that Kalla serve as project advisor.

The Jakarta Urban Regeneration project will run from 2019 to 2030 and covers the integrated MRT-LRT-Transjakarta transportation system, clean water supply, wastewater management, affordable housing, flood control and revitalizing the angkut (public minivan) service. The three priorities among these projects are to expand the MRT network from 15 kilometers to 120-220 kilometers, public housing and flood control and management.

The project budget of Rp 571 trillion is to be spread over 10 years, and combines funding from the Jakarta budget (32 percent), regional obligations or loans (18 percent), the state budget (38 percent) and private sector partnerships (12 percent).

Vice Presidential Special Staff for Economic Affairs Wijayanto Samirin, who has been handpicked to support the project, said that relieving Jakarta of its chronic problems, including traffic congestion and demonstrations, was the positive side to relocating the nation’s capital.

Anies said that the focus for the clean water supply was to expand access to cover more than 95 percent of the city’s residents, while the transportation agenda included rail, bus and microbus transport and utilities development.

Anies said that the capital city relocation project should not raise any concerns that investments flowing into Jakarta would decline. In fact, he said, relocating the capital would mean that former office buildings could be transformed into open green spaces in strategic areas.

Combined with the city’s rich history, it was hoped that Jakarta would remain a tourism destination. “Having parks in strategic areas would be good. Some can be turned into offices. If [we build] office buildings, there will be construction work, which means jobs and economic growth,” Anies added.

Nevertheless, Anies remained doubtful that relocating the capital would reduce traffic jams and pollution in Jakarta. Jakarta’s congestion was mostly caused by private vehicles, which were likely to remain in the city, so improving public transportation was still necessary. (HAR/IRE)