State-owned electricity firm PT PLN has recovered electric power to Balaraja Extra High Voltage substation in Banten Province, and furthermore it will be channeled to Suralaya steam-fueled power plant (PLTU) to gradually recover its operation to reach its capacity of 2800 MW of electricity.
In addition, power supply from Gandul Extra High Voltage substations in Depok, West Java Province, will be channeled to Muara Karang gas and steam power plant (PLTGU) to supply electricity to the Indonesian capital city, Jakarta.
Acting President Director of PLN Sripeni Inten Cahyani said here on Sunday that the power supply to Jakarta was expected to recover within three hours.
"We apologize for the inconvenience today, and currently all efforts have been made to recover the Java-Bali power system, especially in the area of West Java, Banten, and Jakarta," Cahyani said.
The company has focused on power supply to PLTGU Muara Karang and PLTGU Priok to recover the system in the capital city.
Previously, PLN has recovered the operation of hydro-generated power plant (PLTA) Saguling and PLTA Cirata which are functioned as power stabilizer, and, at the same time, supply the electricity to PLTU Suralaya through Cibinong, Depok, Gandul, Lengkok, Balaraja and Suralaya extra high voltage substations.
PLTU Suralaya is expected to return to its normal operation within six hours to normalize power system in West Java and Banten.
Blackout that affected thousands of homes and public facilities in West Java, Jakarta, and Banten was caused by several troubles in the extra high voltage 500 kV transmission of Ungaran - Pemalang.
"PLN has taken its best efforts and will have evaluation to prevent recurrence of today's incident," Cahyani said.
Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) confirmed that electric-powered and autonomous vehicles will ply on Indonesia's next capital city to be located in East Kalimantan.
"This is since what we will use later are autonomous and electric vehicles in the city. Others are not allowed," the president noted in his remarks while addressing the Annual Meeting of Financial Services Industry 2020 held in Jakarta, on Thursday.
The head of state gave the event’s audience a peek into the planned new capital city through a video presentation.
The president affirmed that the new capital city will be based on the concept of Green, Smart, and Comfortable City, as well as Autonomous City.
Jokowi expounded that the rationale behind Indonesia moving its capital city was not solely focused on relocation of government buildings but rather a shift to a new mindset, he explained.
"What we want to move is a change in the mindset, work patterns, and the system that are all new. We will 'install' the system, so that everything follows the existing system," Jokowi stated.
Means of public transportation in the new capital will be operated autonomously and run on electric power to realize values in accordance with the concept, he added.
In fact, private cars operating later in the new capital must be electric powered vehicles.
Taking into account the geopolitical and geostrategic aspects as well as the readiness of supporting infrastructure and financing, the government has decided that the country's new capital city will be located in Sepaku Sub-district, North Penajam Paser District, and Kutai Kartanegara District in East Kalimantan Province.
The land area to be provided for the new capital region spans 256 thousand hectares, with an estimated construction cost of Rp466 trillion. The core area of the capital city will be built on an area of 56 thousand hectares. (ANTARA)
Jakarta - President Joko Widodo led a limited Cabinet Meeting that discussed preparations for capital moving at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon (01/15/2020). Through his direction, President Joko Widodo highlighted a number of aspects in the preparation for new capital of Indonesia. In terms of regulation, he also asked ministers to prepare a number of draft bills and regulations regarding the new state capital. The President hopes that the draft legislation can be completed sooner so that it can be discussed immediately by House of Representatives (DPR). President Joko Widodo also asked Minister of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Suharso Monoarfa to prepare the Capital Authority Agency. It is expected that the institution can be formed immediately so that it can focus on preparing the movement of the capital.
“I think that great ideas for the design have already existed but the design is a design that can be improved and it can change. So, I hope that later on, all my ministers can provide inputs related to the design, and the transportation because in the new capital, public transportation will generally use autonomous vehicles and also the private vehicles will also use autonomous cars and the design will be explained by Minister of Transportation and Minister of Research. Regarding with readiness, the infrastructure will also be directed to the use of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles,” said President Joko Widodo.
Moreover, President Joko Widodo also highlighted the issue of land in the new state capital. He asked Minister Suharso Monoarfa to collaborate with Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar to be able to soon resolve land issues so that the designers of the new capital can immediately realize the final design of the capital. (NDY/AHM/TRANS: AF)
Jakarta - The relocation of the capital city to Eastern Kalimantan aims to encourage improvements in the mindset of the Indonesian people, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said. The relocation does not merely revolve around the geographical sites or the moving of the palaces, President Widodo said at the inauguration of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) event held in Jakarta, Wednesday.
What he had in mind was the transfer of mindset, transfer of work patterns, and transfer of work culture, he added.
He would first build a working system and a new lifestyle system, including a modern transportation system, he said.
He also dismissed the assumption that the movement of the capital city from Jakarta to North Penajam Paser District and part of the Kutai Kartanegara District, was a matter of moving the government building, rather, it was about the shifting of mindset and work systems.
One of the things due to be built is a mass transportation system that relies on autonomous vehicles and electric-powered vehicles, the former Jakarta Governor explained.
Aside from public transportation, Jokowi also hoped that private vehicles used in the new capital city would be autonomous and powered by electricity.
"We want to build this system, that way everything is efficient and everything is cheap," he said.
In the process of determining the country's new capital city in East Kalimantan Province, the government has paid attention to the geopolitical and geostrategic aspects, as well as the readiness of supporting and financing infrastructures.
The total land area that will be provided for the new capital region is 256 thousand hectares, with an estimated construction cost of Rp466 trillion.
The President has asked for support from all parties regarding the relocation plans of the capital city, aimed at transforming the economy and ensuring an equal development towards a better civilization. (ANTARA)
Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (popular as Jokowi) has ordered his ministers to finalize the drafts of the planned Omnibus Law in 13 days or before his 100-day run, which he will complete on January 28, 2020.
"Following our discussion on the Omnibus Law, I request the drafts to be completed this week," Jokowi ordered his ministers during a limited meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta, Wednesday.
During the meeting, Jokowi asked his ministers to set a time frame for the completion of the Omnibus Law drafts. The meeting was attended by Vice President, Ma'ruf Amin; ministers of the Indonesia Maju Cabinet; the National Police Chief, Gen. Pol. Idham Azis; the Intelligence Agency chief, Budi Gunawan; and the Attorney General, Sanitiar Burhanuddin.
Since being elected to a second term in office, President Widodo had vowed to revise at least 74 prevailing laws and synchronize them into a single law, a concept that was popular as the Omnibus Law. The draft will be submitted to the House of Representatives in mid-January this year, the president targeted.
Under his tenure for the 2019-2024 period, Jokowi's administration has planned to draft several omnibus laws, including the Employment Creation Act, the SMEs Empowerment Act, and the Taxation Act. The laws cover at least 11 clusters and harmonize regulations issued by 30 ministries and agencies.
For an omnibus law on taxation, the president believes it will support Indonesia's tax reform. "Our country will serve as a center of the regional and global economic gravities (once the taxation omnibus bill is passed into a law); I believe the law will have a positive impact on the creation of jobs in Indonesia," he expounded.
Despite the president's optimist stance over the omnibus law, several groups, including labor unions, expressed concerns over the plan. In December last year, a Confederation of the Indonesian Labor Union said the Omnibus Law on Employment Creation Act may hurt domestic workers as it will revise regulations on salary, working hours, and worker protection.
"Our concerns are that the Omnibus Law will harm labor because some of the regulations will allow foreign unskilled workers (to be employed); it will be a massive use of outsourcing, flexible working hours, and a change in the payroll scheme from monthly to hourly," the Confederation of Indonesian Workers' Unions (KSPI) Chairman, Said Iqbal, said in a statement.
Hundreds of workers staged a rally in front of the House of Representatives on Monday (Jan 13) to reject the Omnibus Law on Employment Creation Act. The rally continued next to the Merdeka Presidential Palace on Wednesday (Jan 15).
According to the protesters, the omnibus law may remove regulations on a minimum standard salary and severance pay, while lifting restrictions to outsource workers and unskilled foreign workers. They are also concerned the omnibus law may scrap legal sanctions over irresponsible employers/companies, and also compromise the labor rights to social security. (ANTARA)
President Joko Widodo attended the opening of the 1st National Working Meeting (Rakernas) and the commemoration of the 47th Anniversary of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) in Jakarta, Friday afternoon (10/01). In his remarks, President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia's economy could still survive amid the global economic turmoil. However, the current account deficit continues to be a challenge for the national economy. Thus, he emphasized that the Indonesian government would prioritize economic transformation by reducing raw materials such as crude palm oil and nickel. President Joko Widodo perceived that instead of exporting these two raw materials and selling them cheaply, it is better to process and consume them domestically. This effort will make Indonesia self-reliant in the economic, political and cultural fields.
"The point is what Bung Karno said in his three-concept, Trisakti; we must be independent in the economic field. So, we are not easily pressured by anyone, any country, and we must be politically independent, and politically sovereign. Because, we have everything we can process by ourselves. That's what Bung Karno taught, Trisakti: sovereign in politics, self-reliant in economic and personality in culture," said President Joko Widodo.
The 1st National Working Meeting and the commemoration of the 47th Anniversary of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) entitled 'Solid Moves to Realize an Indonesia National Research and Innovation-Based Industrial Country' with the sub-theme 'Spice Path Strategy in Five National Industrial Priorities to Realize a Self-Reliant Indonesia'. In addition to Chairperson of Megawati Soekarnoputri and a number of PDIP elites, the opening of the Rakernas was also attended by a number of national figures, such as former vice-president, Tri Sutrisno, members of Indonesian Cabinet Onward and leaders of political parties. (VOI/Ndy)
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) urged Indonesian ambassadors and diplomats for foreign countries to direct their focus on economic diplomacy since it is viewed as being direly required by Indonesia. The head of state made the request at the opening ceremony of the work meeting of the chief delegation with the Foreign Affairs Ministry at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Thursday.
"We want all focus to be on economic diplomacy. Some 70 to 80 percent of what we have concerns that matter since that is what we need for now," Jokowi emphasized.
Hence, it is crucial that the ambassadors play their roles as investment envoys, for which they need to acknowledge investment opportunities as a future projection.
"The first one is the field related to commodities or products for import substitutions," Jokowi remarked.
For instance, Petrokimia’s fertilizer product, of which 85 percent is still imported. Hence, some opportunities still exist to boost investment in that field.
The president also reiterated the need to find investors for processing raw materials since to this end Indonesia has abundant resources.
To conduct economic diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has compiled several strategic steps including capitalizing on the strengthening of the Indonesian domestic market.
"Indonesia is a vast market with more than 260 million people. We need to take this as leverage in establishing mutually beneficial economic cooperation at the bilateral, regional and global levels," Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said earlier this week.
Another issue that Indonesia needs to be on the lookout for, is protecting the domestic market from products that enter the market illegally or by dumping, or foreign subsidies – as a result of the current low global economic growth, she said. (ANTARA)
Meeting a number of heads of regions at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon (8/1), President Joko Widodo wanted central and regional governments to reconstruct and rehabilitate facilities and infrastructures after floods occurred in Jakarta and surrounding areas. He further said the disaster which brought about the damage of both people’s homes and public facilities has been identified.
“After emergency response completed, I also asked to reconstruct and rehabilitate particularly in Banten and West Java. The government hopes that this can be done immediately for homes impacted houses of landslide and floods. I think the number of victims and the impacted homes and areas have been identified well and this must be diversified again so that after the rain stops, it can be done by central government. I asked the homes in Bogor regency to be relocated after the disaster. President also asked the regent and governor of West Java to decide the location and it is not far from the existing areas in order to be determined soon,” said President Joko Widodo.
Moreover, President Joko Widodo also asked relocation for impacted homes of disaster in Banten province. He said the decision of relocation homes must be quickly done because some locations cannot be used to be locations for people’s housing. (VOI/NdyTRANS:AF)