South Korea's Choi Jung-won Visits IKN, Offers Unexpected Response

Choi Jung-won, Head of the Overseas Construction Support Division at South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), visited the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) and provided an unexpected response. Choi had the opportunity to tour and observe the conditions at IKN firsthand. He also took time to visit the State Palace at IKN. Beyond that, he saw government buildings that have already been erected with beautiful architecture and lush greenery, which left him amazed. “This morning when I arrived in Nusantara, I was very astonished. First of all, I was very impressed with the environmentally friendly design of the development, especially the view stretching from the Presidential Palace to the government building complex; the scenery looked very beautiful,” said Choi. Choi expressed his hope that IKN will maintain its vision and mission of becoming a green city in Indonesia. On that occasion, he asserted that IKN is Indonesia’s future. “Going forward, I hope this city can continue to develop as an environmentally friendly city,” he said. “(One word for IKN) Future. I think Nusantara is the future of Indonesia,” he stressed. Choi explained that South Korea is very enthusiastic about contributing to the development of IKN. In fact, South Korea recently held the groundbreaking for the Smart City Cooperation Centre (SCCC) with a total grant cooperation value of 9.9 billion KRW, or approximately Rp 115.94 billion, carried out by the IKN Authority together with the South Korean Government. The SCCC is located in the West Residential Planning Sub-Area 1A, Central Government Core Area (KIPP) of Nusantara. “I see this Nusantara Smart City Cooperation Centre as the beginning of collaboration between South Korea and Indonesia in the smart city field. South Korea has also built an administrative city called Sejong City and is currently developing it into a smart city,” he said. “Therefore, it is hoped that this new capital city, Nusantara, will be a great opportunity to combine and apply the smart city technology that South Korea possesses. That is what we hope for,” he concluded.