Indonesian capital likely to move to East Kalimantan

id East Kalimanta, capital

Indonesian capital likely to move to East Kalimantan

The planned design of new capital (Ministry of Public Works and Housing's presentation materials)

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Agrarian Minister/National Land Agency Head Sofyan Djalil has signalled the Indonesian capital will move to East Kalimantan.

"(It will move to) East Kalimantan but the specific location has not been decided," he said in Jakarta on Thursday.

The procurement of land to build the new capital still awaits the formal announcement from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on the fixed location for the new capital, he said.

In the first stage, the construction of the new capital will need 3.000 thousand hectares of land to build government offices, he said.

"The expansion of the new capital will need 200 to 300 thousand hectares of land to build a city which has beautiful parks and many trees so its residents could lead healthy life and enjoy clean air. We hope it will become an attractive city to live," he said.

Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro said the planned relocation of the new capital to Kalimantan will reach the preparatory stage only in 2020.

"Therefore, there will be no significant activities in 2020 since it is still the preparatory stage," he said.

The fund needed to move the capital to Kalimantan will not depend on the state budget but will largely come from private investment and state-owned companies, he said.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the planned relocation of the capital to Kalimantan will be conducted in 2021. It is the seat of the government that will first be built on 3,000 to 6,000 hectares of land, he said.