American engineering company AECOM, strategy consulting firm McKinsey & Company and Japanese architectural and engineering firm Nikken Sekkei will be involved in developing the masterplan of Indonesia’s USD 34 billion new capital city in the rainforests of East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is leading a steering committee for the mega project, while former British prime minister Tony Blair and the founder of Japanese SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, are also on the committee, which is tasked with attracting investors.
McKinsey will assist the National Development Planning Agency, while SoftBank will collaborate with Nikken Sekkei. Indonesia will fund a fifth of the USD 34 billion cost for the 5,600 hectare downtown area of the new capital, set to house the new presidential palace and other government buildings. The government of the UAE said it would invest USD 22.8 billion in Indonesia, through a sovereign wealth fund, together with SoftBank and the United States International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC).
The selection of a 256,000 hectare site in East Kalimantan, where the nation’s new capital would be relocated to, was announced in August 2019 while the current capital on Java Island, is traffic-choked, increasingly prone to floods, and sinking. The main objective of the involved parties is to build the world’s first 21st century capital city by leveraging the latest technologies and focusing on Environment preservation. Artificial intelligence and the internet of things will play a key role in planned project, while green areas will occupy a majority of the city.
(Sources: The Jakarta Post; Global Construction Review)