I. Context

The idea to relocate the national capital goes back as far as Indonesia's first President Sukarno in the 1950s and has recently been revived under the current administration of President Joko Widodo. Some initial preliminary analytical work has been undertaken by Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), including reviews on capital city relocations around the world. The relocation idea instigates by deterioration of Jakarta's condition and regional disparities between Java and outer Java. 

Jakarta and Greater Jakarta is challenged by uncontrolled urban growth and inadequate support systems. The population of the Greater Jakarta is about 32 million; second largest in the world. With population density in Jakarta itself is about 15,663 people per square km in 2017, one of the most densely populated major cities in the world. The city faces difficulties in providing basic infrastructure needs for its residents (e.g. housing, water, and sanitation). 

Jakarta's traffic condition is characterized by congestion and limited urban transport. Average vehicle speed at peak hour continue to decline, recently it is 16 km per hour. Commuting time is 2-3 hours per trip. The ratio of road infrastructure to the total area of the city is 6.2 per cent, lag behind an ideal condition of 15 per cent. In addition to productivity, environmental and health consequences, frequent traffic gridlocks prevent effective communication and coordination among government agencies. Jakarta is also vulnerability to floods, land subsidence, and sea level rise; and subject to significant potential of human pandemic due to poor sanitation conditions. 

Jakarta's overpopulation has led to environmental degradation. The massive population, coupled with lack of urban infrastructures, lack of public transportation facilities, over-extraction of ground water, encroachment of urban areas replacing open green spaces, spread of slums within the city, gridlock traffic, and poor water drainage systems has led to an ecological degradation of the city. The ecological degradation has spread in the form of water and air pollution, and as the ground water has been extracted, the city has slowly been sinking (parts of Northern Jakarta are today essentially below sea level, and regularly suffer from flooding). This has prompted the proposition to consider relocating the political and administrative center of the city elsewhere. 

In April 2017, President Joko Widodo's administration started to initiate the idea to relocate the capital from Jakarta. Aside of decreasing carrying capacity of Jakarta, the government is also concerned about the economic primacy and dominance of Jakarta and Java Island (and the related cost to the economy). It is encouraging a more multi-polar economic structure for the country, reducing the regional disparities between Jakarta and Java with the other regions outside Java. Therefore, the government now is considering moving the Indonesian capital out of Java.

The relocation of the capital is part of a long-term strategic vision of national development. Indonesia aims to create a capital city at a location (and with an urban design) that: (a) represents the identity and national cohesion in terms of nation and state building (national identity); (b) reduces the inequality/inequity/disparity in the country; (c) reflects the diversity ('kebhinekaan') of Indonesia. A strategic location geographically located in the middle of Indonesian archipelago would better represent the diversity of the country and encourage acceleration of regional development in eastern parts of Indonesia away from Java. In so doing, Indonesia aims to create a city that is modern and of international-standard, reflects the concept of a sustainable city that is smart, green, and beautiful, and improves competitiveness regionally and internationally. This new city will need to function as the government center and facilitate effective and efficient governance. 

Reduced regional disparities is the main driving force for establishing a new capital city and moving most of the government offices there, making the country more 'balanced' in terms of economic activity. Regional disparities across Indonesia are expected to become a serious issue in the longer term if not addressed. The imbalance in economic development across Indonesia can be seen from the regional gross domestic product (GDP), that is concentrated on the island of Java and which accounted for 58 percent of national GDP in 2017. Meanwhile, as the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta contributed to 17.4 percent of national output. In 2017 also, the GDP per capita of the richest province, Jakarta, was 13.3 times higher than that of the poorest province, Nusa Tenggara Timur in the eastern part of Indonesia. 

In 2017, Bappenas carried out a study of three major alternatives: (a) keep Jakarta as both capital and administrative center (as Tokyo for Japan), with a concentrated area for most government offices; (b) create a separate administrative center in the vicinity of Jakarta (50-70 km away), and keep Jakarta as the official capital (in the same fashion as Malaysia moved the federal administrative center to Putrajaya); and (c) move the national capital altogether by creating a completely new planned city (similar to the way that Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, a planned city, in 1960). Option (c) is preferred, and the island of Kalimantan was considered the most suitable location. The island is vast, close to the geographical center of the country, and relatively safe from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

II. Objectives of the session

The international congress will bring together leading urban planners, practitioners and policymakers for a moderated discourse on the plan to move the capital city with the recent presidential decision to choose Kalimantan Island as the location for the new capital. Re-orientation of the country's geo-political gravity, alongside efforts for more just and fair development, are key issues shaping the discourse. Now, as the country enters the planning and implementation stage, it will require a precise decision-making process and a sound master plan and development plan. This dialogue aims to discuss key concerns in planning a new capital, challenges and opportunities, as well as benchmarks from various good practices. In doing so, the event will have the following objectives: 

• To provide inspiration to event attendees and to create widespread media interest on the urgency of the capital city relocation plan.
• To shed light on key policy challenges face by national policymakers, particularly in the context of development financing constraint, development consistency of long term program, and creating a new capital city that is developing and functioning optimally,
• To explore the roles that different actors – national policymakers, city leaders, private sectors, and other non-government actors – play in planning, developing, and financing (highlighting the Public Private Partnership as alternative funding scheme), to realize the vision of a Smart, Green, Beautiful and Sustainable Capital City.

III. Key messages

Among the key messages that the event is expected to convey are the following:

• Lesson learned of the relevant countries that have experience in capital city relocation.
• Strategies and development stages of capital city relocation.
• Financial schemes to support the planning and development of new capital city.
• Improving the inclusiveness of the new capital.

Programme

14:00 | Opening Remarks 

• Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister, National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Republic of Indonesia

14:20 | Keynote Speech on "Benchmark and Important Strategies for Successful Relocation of Capital Cities"

• Vadim Rossman, Author of 'Capital Cities: Varieties and Patterns of Development and Relocation'

14:40 | Panel Discussion

Moderator: Kania Sutisnawinata, Deputy Chief Editor, Metro TV

Panelists:

• Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister, National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Republic of Indonesia
• Shipra Narang Suri, Director of Urban Planning and Design, UN-Habitat
  
• Vadim Rossman, Author of 'Capital Cities: Varieties and Patterns of Development and Relocation'
• Alfonso Vegara, Fundacion Metropoli
• Norliza Hasyim, Managing Director AJM Urban Design, Masterplanner of Putra Jaya