VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. The environmental aspect has become the prime factor in the development of the new capital of Indonesia in East Kalimantan province, Minister of National Development Planning, Suharso Monoarfa, said.

"The development (of the new capital city) pays very much attention to the environment. In fact, we (will) reforest arid and barren land," Monoarfa, who is also head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), said following a meeting with architects and designers of the new capital city in Jakarta on Monday.

He said the development of the new capital city will take into account environmental conservation and that it will be conducted in coordination with the Environment and Forestry Ministry.

"The process of planning and designing the state capital has calculated all (aspects). The process has followed acceptable principles and above all, it does not violate the law," he added.

In regard to the development of the state palace, he assured that Bappenas and the Public Works and People's Housing Ministry have harmonized the materials for the masterplan and urban design of the new capital city.

During Monday’s meeting, Suharso discussed several issues, including the design of the state palace, with representatives of the Association of Regional and Urban Planners (IAP), Indonesian Architects Association (IAI), and the Indonesian Urban Designers Association (ARKI).

Representatives from the Indonesian Landscape Architects Association (IALI) and the Green Building Council of Indonesia (GBCI) also attended the meeting.

The discussion on the design of the state palace is still in the early stage, the minister said adding, it may still be discussed further with architects and planners.

"I would like to thank architects from AP, IAI, IARKI, IALI, and GBCI as well as the general public for the inputs. We are thinking of an eagle-shaped building, so we discussed how is its architecture and security," he stated. (Antaranews)