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New capital to be ‘smart, green, beautiful’, govt says
The development of the new capital in the future will not forsake environmental and forest protection, the government has promised.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (third left), along with other officials, studies a map during a visit to Bukit Soeharto in Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan on May 7. Bukit Soeharto, is one of several areas that have been mooted as a new capital city.
(Antara/Agus Salim)
T
he development of the new capital of the future will not forsake environmental and forest protection, the government has insisted, promising that the new administrative hub will be a “smart, green and beautiful” city.
As locations in Kalimantan—often dubbed the world’s lungs for its vast forest area— have become options for the country’s new capital, concerns have mounted among activists over the possible impact of the relocation on the environment.
“We are committed to not interfering with environmental [protection] when we develop a new capital,” National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) head Bambang Brodjonegoro said in answer to the concerns on Monday.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently visited two alternative locations to set up the country’s new administrative hub, namely Bukit Soeharto in East Kalimantan and the Triangle Area near Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan.
Environmentalists subsequently raised cautions over potential environmental damage if one of the two areas were turned into a major new city, especially with the expected massive land clearance to support the development.
Bukit Soeharto, in particular, is a 61,850-hectare forest area that has been declared a taman hutan rakyat (grand national park) and functions as a conservation area, according to a 2007 Forestry Ministry regulation.
Bambang said the government would leave conservation areas untouched, though he acknowledged that some parts of Bukit Soeharto have been scarred by the opening of oil palm plantations over the years.
