The long-awaited Jakarta International Stadium, the construction plans of which have been regularly talked about since President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was the capital’s governor, is now only years away from accommodating a multitude of sports and activities — from soccer to bungee jumping — with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan having officiated its groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.

Located in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, the stadium, which is being built on 221,000 square meters of land, is expected to be finished by mid-2021, coinciding with Jakarta’s 494th anniversary. It will be complete with a family recreation center and a variety of sporting facilities.

City-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) is at the helm of the Rp 4.5 trillion (US$315.7 million) project alongside a consultant team from England that has helped develop soccer stadiums in Europe and Qatar.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Anies said the stadium would be similar in quality to world-class stadiums such as Manchester United’s Old Trafford and Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu.

“Today is a new chapter in what we have been waiting for. Eighty-three years ago, Jakarta got its first stadium and Jakarta International Stadium will be built here,” he said.

As an MRT station would be built near and integrated with the stadium, he said, visitors to the venue would be expected to use public transportation.

Jakpro director Dwi Wahyu Daryoto explained that the stadium capacity would be 82,000.

Its roof, designed to accommodate bungee jumping and the thrill seekers that come with the aerial activity, will be 60 meters from the ground.

Fans of Jakarta-based soccer club Persija Jakarta have long waited for the project to begin, as their club has been looking for a new home ground ever since the demolition of Lebak Bulus Stadium in South Jakarta in 2015 to make way for the MRT.

Since then, the club and its fans, popularly known as Jakmania, have demanded that the Jakarta administration build a replacement stadium.

However, Jakpro project director Iwan Takwin said the stadium could be utilized by several parties, which might suggest that it will not be Persija’s home venue.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, Iwan said his side would start clearing the area in the next two or three weeks so that the site could be built to meet flood-level requirements.

“The main construction, including building the foundation, will take place in May at the very latest. We hope that a training pitch can be completed earlier [than the main stadium],” he said, adding that his party targeted to finish 20 percent of the total construction by the end of the year.

Prior to the ceremony, the project had faced challenges, including a stir caused by Jakarta Legislative Council speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi, who refused to approve funding proposed by the city administration.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said he wanted the Jakarta Sports Agency to lead the
development.

After a lengthy discussion, the council agreed to grant Jakpro Rp 900 billion to begin the stadium’s initial construction. Iwan said the council would propose another Rp 500 billion in the revised city budget to fund the initial development.

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