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Government center in new capital to be run by 'city manager': Bappenas
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Lush city: An aerial view shows Sepaku district in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, on Aug. 28. (Reuters via Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
I
ndonesia’s future capital is to be turned into an autonomous province, with the exception of the city’s center of government, which is to be a special region, according to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).
Bappenas head Suharso Monoarfa said the soon-to-be-built capital city, which will sit atop 256,000 hectares of land in what are currently the regencies of North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara in East Kalimantan, is set to become a new province.
The government center of some 56,000 ha ─ which will be home to the Presidential Palace, ministries and other state institutions ─ will be excluded from the autonomous region, he said.
"[The new capital] will be an autonomous province, but some 56,000 ha of the 256,000 ha will be a special region managed by a city manager," Suharso said on Monday.
The city manager would be appointed rather than elected by the people, the minister said without providing further details on the role of the manager and who would get the authority to appoint someone into the position.
Suharso said the government was currently drafting a law on the details of the new capital, including the formation of a new autonomous region.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration would soon establish an agency that would be in charge of overseeing the capital relocation, including to ensure that all construction went according to the plan.
"A presidential regulation about the agency will soon be issued," he said.
The Home Ministry previously said the capital relocation ─ which is projected to cost up to Rp 466 trillion (US$33 billion) ─ would require new legislation and amendments to at least nine laws, including Law No. 29/2007 to change Jakarta’s special status, a new law on capital spatial planning in East Kalimantan, as well as revising Law No. 23/2004 on regional administrations.
The government plans to finish the deliberation and revision of all required legal bases in 2020 to commence construction on the new capital by the end of next year. (vny)
