Indonesian Minister: "Acquiring Korean Know-how... Balanced Economic Development in the New Capital"

Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Public Works and Housing of Indonesia, stated, "The decision to move the capital to East Kalimantan is to achieve balanced economic development. We have closely examined the case of Korea."

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (right), and Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Public Works and Housing of Indonesia / Photo by Noh Kyung-jo

On the 16th, Minister Basuki met with Korean reporters at the Mulia Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, and said, "Indonesia and Korea have many similarities in business methods and problem-solving approaches, and there is broad cultural understanding between the two."

The Indonesian government is promoting the capital relocation project due to ground subsidence and sea level rise affecting the capital, Jakarta. This project is worth a total of 40 trillion won and will be carried out in five phases by 2045. The new capital site is planned to be in East Kalimantan, which was decided considering the economic situation where 60% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is concentrated on the western Java island, Minister Basuki explained. The goal is balanced development between the east and west.

Minister Basuki added, "Jakarta faces serious problems with flooding and traffic congestion, and in the case of flooding, the cause is ground subsidence rather than rainfall," explaining, "We judged that relocating the capital is better than renovating Jakarta."

It is expected that normalizing the 13 rivers in Jakarta would cost more. The development of the new capital is projected to require 500 to 600 trillion rupiah. However, he emphasized, "A project to build a seawall in the frequently flooded northern area of Jakarta is also underway," and "I have visited the Saemangeum site in Korea three times to learn from it."

He said, "Korea has extensive experience not only with Sejong Administrative City (Happy City) but also with new capital constructions such as the Busan Eco Delta Smart City," and "We carefully studied the Korean cases from the planning stage of the capital relocation."

He continued, "In July and August last year, we dispatched 25 young engineers from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to Korea to receive smart city education," adding, "We have so many friends that we consider Korea Water Resources Corporation as a second office."

Minister Basuki said, "China and Japan are also interested in the capital relocation project, but we feel more comfortable cooperating with Korea," and "We believe we can understand each other quickly and cooperate effectively."