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Built from scratch, new capital may be 'smart' but 'lonely' city, some fear
National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa has said Indonesia’s new capital will pioneer smart city development in the country.
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Lush surrounding: An aerial photo shows Sepaku district in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, on Aug. 28. The area is part of the location where Indonesia's new capital will be built. (Reuters via Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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ational Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa said on Tuesday that Indonesia’s new capital, to be built on an area of 256,000 hectares in the East Kalimantan regencies of North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara, would pioneer smart city development in the country.
“The new capital city will set a new standard for basic infrastructure and services,” he said during a hearing at the House of Representatives.
The basic infrastructure to be established in the new capital city includes digitized and integrated public transportation, water management, drinkable tap water, waste management, integrated drainage and a digital hub with an integrated information system.
“Our hope is to make all cities in Indonesia great, not just the capital city. If we can drink tap water in the capital city, for example, why not create the same technology in the other cities?” said the minister.
Services for businesses would include smart hospitals, international universities, high-tech industries and green industries, such as solar-powered factories and a new hub for convention and exhibition tourism as well as natural attractions.
Urban development expert Wicaksono Sarosa of Ruang Waktu Knowledge Hub on Sustainable Urban Development, however, noted that building a city, especially a smart city, was not going to be easy and would take time. “The physical development might be faster, but a city also has a social aspect,” he said, saying it would take 15 to 30 years for a city to become fully alive and vibrant.
Wicaksono cited as an example the city of Songdo in South Korea, billed as one of the world’s smartest and most environmentally friendly cities, but which in reality is also a lonely city. The population is around 100,000, only a third of the 300,000 goal even 15 years after its completion. And with all the virtual convenience, the city lacks human interaction and warmth.
