The progress of the work on the capital city of the Archipelago (IKN) entered a new phase with the inauguration of the head and deputy head of the IKN Authority on Thursday (10/3). President Joko Widodo appointed Bambang Susantono and Dhony Rahajoe as head and deputy head of the IKN Authority, a combination that Jokowi thinks is very appropriate to carry out their duties in an effort to expedite the process of moving the capital city.
Jokowi said the two figures were chosen based on work experience and educational background. Bambang himself is known to be not new to the government. He had held the position of Deputy Minister of Transportation in the second term of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration.
“Mr. Bambang, he has a track record as an ITB graduate in the field of civil, infrastructure and then also in the field of urban planning, then masters, doctoral degrees, experience in fields related to transportation, which are related to finance,” said Jokowi.
“Then also lastly as Vice President at ADB, I think from all sides this is complete,” said Jokowi referring to the Asian Development Bank, the place where Bambang last pursued his career before being appointed as head of the IKN Authority.
“Then supported by Mr. Dhony who has experience in the field, especially in the property sector, from A to Z, he has experienced it,” added Jokowi at the IKN Limited Meeting, at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (10/3).
Dhony himself is an important name in the Sinarmas property company. He has experience building a BSD city independent city. With the reason of avoiding a conflict of interest, Dhony decided to resign from his position at Sinarmas Land since he was officially appointed as deputy head of the IKN Authority.
With these experiences, Jokowi believes that the two of them will easily coordinate with related ministries and institutions to jointly start the IKN development located in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan.
On the same occasion, Jokowi also instructed the two of them to work quickly, especially with regard to institutions.
“For land issues, the handover with the Minister of BPN can also be resolved as soon as possible regarding the status of the IKN area land, then also the identification and verification of land that may still be owned or still controlled by the company or by the community and we must ensure that land acquisition in the IKN area can only be transferred to agencies that require land for IKN development,” he explained.
Jokowi also instructed to stop the issuance and transfer of land rights in the new capital area later. The President also gave directions related to spatial planning in the IKN area. Jokowi wants to be able to accelerate the release of forest areas in IKN areas, especially those in the core government areas.
“The fourth relates to the formation of legislation, which is an order or derivative of the IKN Law. This will also be resolved soon and we hope it will be finished in March,” he said.
There are still criticisms pouring in about the planned relocation of the capital city, making Jokowi want all parties involved in the process of moving the capital city to maximize public communication strategies. He wants the wider community to clearly understand the reasons behind the relocation of the capital city.
“So we really involve the community in the area and communicate with various elements about why this transfer is happening. So please, what is conveyed is the issue of equal distribution of economic GDP, the issue of regional inequality between Java and outside Java, the issue of the dense population in Java, namely 56 percent of Indonesia’s population is in Java, 58 percent of economic GDP is in Java, it is also conveyed that we will also take Jakarta fix it, not leave it. So don’t have that perception,” Jokowi explained.
Meanwhile, the Main Expert Staff of the Presidential Staff Office of the Republic of Indonesia, Wandy Tuturoong, said that after being appointed the Head and Deputy Head of the IKN Authority and the team in it, they will be directly involved in drafting the derivative rules of Law Number 3 of 2022 concerning IKN.
“If the derivative rules have been completed, then the Head of the Authority and the Deputy Head of the Authority can work operationally. This refers to Article 5 of the IKN Law, namely the IKN Authority has the right to organize the Regional Government of the Special Capital of the Archipelago, and carry out activities, both preparation, development until the relocation of the national capital,” said Wandy in a press release, in Jakarta, Thursday (10/3).
“About the stages and the designs have all been made, and will be revealed in the form of a Presidential Decree, especially regarding the Master Plan, in which the plans and priorities have been stated,” he explained.
Wandy added that in carrying out the preparation, construction and relocation of the national capital, the IKN Authority was given the authority to issue investment permits, ease of doing business, and provide special facilities to parties that support financing. This, he said, has been regulated in Article 12 of Law No. 3/2022 concerning the State Capital.
“This authority, in more detail, will be regulated together with the duties of the Head and Deputy Head of the IKN Authority in the Presidential Regulation related to the structure and authority of the IKN Authority,” he explained. [gi/rs]