JAKARTA: Indonesia will not lose sight of the environment when it starts developing the new capital located between North Penajem Paser and Kutai Kartanegara in East Kalimantan.
President Joko Widodo stressed on this in a visit to the proposed site of the new administrative hub earlier this week, according to The Jakarta Post.
He said an immediate priority in the development was to build a nursery area for tree seedlings that will be cultivated to eventually rehabilitate forested areas within the new capital.
"I have instructed Environmental and Forestry Minister (Siti Nurbaya Bakar) to build a 100-hectare nursery that will accommodate millions of seedlings so that the (new capital) will be a verdant area full of oxygen," said Joko or Jokowi in Balikpapan yesterday.
The new capital on Borneo is associated with extensive tropical rain forests, often dubbed one of the world’s lungs.
In the vicinity, there are also two areas still covered with lush vegetation, namely the Bangkirai National Park and the Bukit Soeharto forest.
The 1,500-hectare Bangkirai national park, located in the Samboja district of Kutai Kartanegara, is a tropical rain forest conservation area.
Bukit Soeharto is a 61,850-ha forest area located near the mid-point of the road connecting Samarinda and Balikpapan.
East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor had previously suggested that up to 410,000-ha of land be allocated for the new capital.
Within the area, some 56,000 ha were to be set aside for the city’s core area ─ where the government centre is to be built.
Jokowi said the government administrative centre, which would be home to presidential, ministerial and other state offices, was estimated to only need 5,600 ha, leaving plenty of areas that could be rehabilitated with trees.
As the government only wanted to use 19 per cent of the estimated expense for the USD33 billion (RM136.6 billion) relocation, the President said private sector participation was key to securing relocation and easing the burden on the state budget.
"We want to look for a source of financing that isn’t a burden on the state, whether through public-private-partnerships or private investments," Jokowi said.
Officials are currently drafting a presidential regulation on the establishment of a special authority to facilitate the relocation of the capital from Jakarta.
Jokowi said the new regulation was expected to be concluded and signed by next month so the body could start working as early as next year.