ADB To Assist Planning Of Indonesia’s New Capital

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar JAKARTA, March 18 (Bernama) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged to help Indonesia plan its new capital, Nusantara, as a carbon-neutral and inclusive city. The bank will share international lessons learned to help Nusantara National Capital Authority (NNCA) design and fund construction of the new capital, its vice-president for East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, Ahmed M. Saeed said. NNCA, the government agency in charge of planning and constructing the new capital, will also oversee the government’s transition to Nusantara and eventually become the city’s administrator. In a statement today, Ahmed said it will assist the NNCA to assess Nusantara’s potential environmental and social impacts, and mobilise financing from public and private sectors to support the development. As a first step, the bank will support NNCA’s effort to organise an international conference to learn how other countries have handled the development of carbon-neutral and inclusive cities. Newly appointed NNCA’s chairman Bambang Susantono, who until recently was ADB’s vice-president for knowledge management and sustainable development, thanked the bank for its timely support. The relocation to Nusantara from Jakarta is expected to cost as much as US$32 billion and take until 2045 to complete. -- BERNAMA