Arriving at the National Monument (Monas) inside a luxurious electric car on a scorching Friday afternoon, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan announced the city’s participation in the 2019/2020 season of the Formula E electric race car championship, adding that the city would host the event for five seasons.

Accompanied by national racer Sean Gelael at the steering wheel, the governor rode in a BMW i8 electric car, followed by Formula E chief championship officer Alberto Longo, also in an i8, with former national top racer Ananda Mikola.

“Alhamdulillah [praise the Lord], the negotiation process was finished in August, so today, together with Alberto, I announce that [one round of] the sixth season of Formula E will be held in Jakarta,” he said.

“With our participation in Formula E, we want to say that the future of transportation is free from emissions. We want to encourage people to use more sustainable-energy-based vehicles, including electric cars,” he said.

Longo said Formula E and the governor shared the same vision of protecting the planet and the people living inside megacities like Jakarta.

“Formula E is a weapon against climate change and the city’s pollution. It is also a platform to promote the electrification of transportation,” he said.

Jakarta will hold the race on June 6, 2020, joining South Korea’s Seoul and England’s London as the latest addition to the Formula E calendar. London will host the final round of the season.

The decision to sign the five-season contract would be beneficial for the host city, meaning that it would have enough time to develop its infrastructure, added Anies.

Sean, who currently competes in Formula 2 with the Prema Racing team, said he appreciated the presence of an electric car competition in the country, while indicating his interest in racing in the event next year.

The upcoming season will feature 12 teams, 24 cars and 24 drivers. The championship will kick off on Nov. 22 in Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah.

On Thursday, Anies confirmed the city’s participation in the race during a lunch meeting with editors at City Hall, saying that Jakarta’s involvement in the competition “is a step ahead to launch the capital into the global orbit”.

He said he expected the race to boost the economy by up to Rp 1.2 trillion (US$85.7 million) — a target he criticized as “too conservative”.

Anies also said that about 35,000 people would attend the event. However, he said he believed the number would be much higher considering that the last event to commemorate the Islamic New Year held by the city administration at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle was attended by about 400,000 people.

Formula E event operations director Manolo Ortiz-Tallo explained that the race track would be 3 kilometers long and would center on Monas in Central Jakarta.

“The race will only take an hour but there should be pre- and side-events accompanying the race,” he said.

The Monas plaza, which is made of cobblestones, will be layered with asphalt for the race. The asphalt is to be removed afterward.

Dwi Wahyu Daryoto, CEO of city-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), said the pre-events would kick off next week and continue for the next nine months.

“This electric car race is also to raise awareness about switching to cleaner energy,” he said.

Dwi expected the race would have a good impact on the hospitality industry, especially on hotels and restaurants near the Monas area.

Formula E actually has an empty slot on Dec. 14 in its 2019/2020 season, which comprises 14 races from Nov. 22, 2019, to July 26, 2020. The host cities include Mexico City, Hong Kong, Rome, Paris, Seoul, Berlin, New York and London.

Starting its first season in 2014, the race series is the only inner city competition involving electricity-powered single-seater cars. The idea for the championship series was conceived in 2011 by Jean Todt and Alejandro Agag and was intended “to demonstrate the potential of sustainable mobility to help create a better, cleaner world”, according to Formula E’s official website, fiaformulae.com.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia