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Land of milk and honey: Businesses think big for new Indonesian capital
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (third left), along with other officials, looks at a map as he visits Bukit Soeharto in Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan on May 7. Bukit Soeharto, was one of several areas that had been nominated for the site of a new capital city. (Courtesy of Presidential Press Bureau/-)
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usinesses have begun jumping at the opportunities presented by the capital’s relocation following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announcement of the location on Monday.
A mere 24 hours after the President officially revealed the new capital would be located in North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regencies in East Kalimantan, property developer PT Agung Podomoro Land published an advertisement to promote its latest project, Borneo Bay City, on Tuesday.
Despite being located in the province’s financial center of Balikpapan, the publicly listed company dubbed the superblock consisting of a mall, hotels and seven apartment towers as “the best investment in the new capital in East Kalimantan” as it would only take 20 minutes to reach North Penajam Paser via the planned Balikpapan-Penajam highway.
“Property and construction businesses will certainly grow near the administration center at a time when challenges are relatively low,” said Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) executive director Danang Girindrawardana.
Subsidiary of state-owned construction firm PT PP, PT PP Properti (PPRO), voiced its interest in developing real estate projects in the province following the government’s landmark decision.
PPRO president director Taufik Hidayat told the press that the company had formed a team four months ago to conduct research into the business opportunities in the new capital. He also said several investors had offered to work with the publicly listed firm to develop properties in the area.
“Landowners in East Kalimantan have come forward and asked us to cooperate to develop their land and it could potentially reach up to 500 hectares,” Taufik said at the Indonesia Stock Exchange building in Jakarta.
