Deputy Interior Minister: Sectoral agglomeration the solution to urban problems
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Interior Minister (Wamendagri) Bima Arya Sugiarto is pushing for the strengthening of agglomeration concepts based on a sectoral approach to accelerate the resolution of various urban area problems.
Bima stated that the agglomeration concept is not new, but its implementation is often hindered by an excessive focus on institutional aspects, resulting in suboptimal handling of cross-regional issues such as flooding, traffic congestion, and waste.
“In China, sir, they have advanced to this extent because their agglomeration is working. It is regulated by the centre, given models by the centre, so it relies on agglomeration. They can’t do it individually,” Bima said in his statement in Jakarta on Thursday.
He delivered this at the National Seminar Discussion on Sustainable Agglomeration at the Aglo-City Summit 2026 held at Novotel Tangerang BSD City, Tangerang Regency, Banten.
He explained that the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) has been mandated to ensure effective synchronisation, synergy, and collaboration among stakeholders. This approach is deemed important so that development policies do not run partially, but within an integrated ecosystem.
Bima emphasised the need for a shift in approach from institutional to sectoral to enable faster and more concrete problem-solving on the ground. “Focus directly on issues and sectors,” he stressed.
He cited waste management and transportation as key issues in agglomeration areas that require a sectoral approach.
The waste-to-electricity energy programme (PSEL) and the Local Service Delivery Improvement Programme (LSDP) were mentioned as forms of direct central government intervention focused on concrete problem-solving.
In addition, cross-regional transportation integration is seen as potentially more effective if supported by clear authority, financing schemes, and inter-regional coordination within the agglomeration framework.
Bima affirmed that with central government support and commitment from regional governments, the sectoral-based agglomeration concept has strong prospects as a long-term solution to urban area problems.