Relocation of Indonesian Capital to Create Investment Prospects for Asean, China Partners

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia is inviting investors from Asean member-states and China for transportation projects that will be essential to developing the country's proposed new capital on Kalimantan Islands.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told his counterparts from Asean member-states and China about the investment prospects that will come with the 2024 relocation of Indonesia's capital from Java to Kalimantan at a virtual regional meeting on strengthening the transportation system and logistics on Thursday, July 16.

“We invite our colleagues in Asean and China [to invest in the transportation projects],” Budi said in a statement made available to Kompas.com.

Under the project worth a total 466 trillion rupiahs ($32 billion), the capital city will be relocated to East Kalimantan from the polluted and overcrowded Jakarta on Java Island, where more than 50 percent of the country's 269 million people live.

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He added the collaboration in the form of a public-private partnership with Asean countries and China could be in infrastructure projects for land, sea, and air connectivity. Railroad projects are also open to such collaboration.

Indonesia remains committed to the smooth running of the logistics system and transport connectivity in the Asean region even as it deals with the Covid-19 crisis.

The government has established measures to ensure smooth adaptation of new habits post-pandemic and facilitate the movement of people by applying health protocols to help people remain productive and safe from Covid-19. This is done to support the country’s economic recovery.

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Budi said the Covid-19 pandemic does not stop Indonesia from collaborating with its counterparts. This includes bilateral cooperation with the Asean countries and China such as in the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway project.

Besides, he added, Indonesia also continued to complete the masterplan for the construction of its new international airport in north Bali, including the operation of buses and trains to connect the northern and southern parts of the resort island.

(Writer: Akhdi Martin Pratama | Editor: Yoga Sukmana)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/07/16/195940526/menhub-tawarkan-proyek-transportasi-ibu-kota-baru-ke-asean-china?page=2.