In August 2019, the newly-elected President of Republic Indonesia, Joko Widodo announced to move the capital of Indonesia from Jakarta to an area in Kalimantan. The area for the new capital is located in Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kertanegara, East Kalimantan province. This plan is followed with a comprehensive study conducted by Indonesian National Planning and Development Agency (BAPPENAS) and a prestigious design competition held by Indonesian Ministry of Housing and Public Works (PUPR) in the end of 2019.
The construction of the new capital is planned to start in 2020 and the relocation process itself will be started in 2024. The new capital will be governed by an authority agency leader who is equal with a minister.
Inspired by this plan, IDN Liveable Cities in collaboration with Embassy of Republic Indonesia in the Netherlands (KBRI Den Haag) held a focus group discussion to gather opinions from international experts upon this topic. The discussion held in the Auditorium TDVG (Technostarters Delft Vastgoed BV) on December 2, 2019. In this discussion, numerous key-note speakers were also invited to share their experiences and expertise.
These key-note speakers among others: Imam Santoso Ernawi (Head of Taskforce of the Infrastructure Development Planning of the Capital, PUPR), Wiwi Tjiook and Daliana Suryawinata (IDN Liveable Cities), Marcia B. van der Vlugt (Programme Manager Spatial Planning International, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands), D.E.F. Henley (Professor of Contemporary Indonesia Studies Leiden University), Deden Rukmana (Professor of Urban and Regional Planning Alabama A&M University), Emilius Sudirjo (PhD Candidate at Wageningen University and Research).