VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The development of the new capital city (IKN), Nusantara, from the early or zero stage is an opportunity for Indonesia to create the best city in the world, Governor of West Java Ridwan Kamil said.

At the kilometer-zero point for Nusantara, East Kalimantan, on Monday, he said that the new capital city can become No.1 in terms of its system.

This means that Nusantara can be a smart and green city that produces zero carbon.

Moreover, Nusantara can also become the best city in terms of design, he remarked.

The development of Nusantara is also a historical moment for Indonesia because this is the first time the nation is building a city from scratch and not just simply relocating the capital to another city.

Hence, this is an opportunity for the government to design a smart and sustainable city from the start.

"Usually, a designed city is created by a private party. There has never been any city created by the state," he noted.

The development of Nusantara, with the goal of creating a modern, smart, and green city, will require a relatively long amount of time, Kamil opined.

To this end, he said he expects that the people understand that the development of Nusantara will not be complete within three to five years.

"Cities in the world start from a vision. Some complete this vision within 10 years. It is not realistic to finish this vision under 10 years; so it will take time," he explained.

He also noted that there are challenges to making people volunteer to relocate to Nusantara.

Thus, the government should provide adequate facilities so that the people voluntarily want to relocate to Nusantara.

"If we are only relying on the civil servant population, the city will certainly become a lonely one," he remarked.

The governor, who comes from an architectural background, said he believes that the Capital City Nusantara Authority’s head, Bambang Susantono, is capable of creating Nusantara in accordance with many people's expectations and President Joko Widodo's vision and mission.

Kamil informed that he is good friends with Susantono and attended the same universities as him, namely Bandung Institute of Technology, West Java, and the University of California, Berkeley, United States of America. (Antaranews)