Ministry Ambitious to Realize Forest City in Indonesia's New Capital

TheIndonesia.id - The Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) said it’s determined to create a forest city in Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara in Kalimantan as well as making it an environmentally friendly and smart city

Director general for human settlement Diana Kusumastuti said the Ministry will focus on achieving the three main goals for the new capital in East Kalimantan: to make it a 10-minute-walk city for pedestrians, a forest city, and a futuristic smart city.

“We’re striving towards achieving the main indicators set out in the master plan,” Kusumastuti said on Monday, July 18, as reported by Antara.

Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya previously confirmed that in order to create a forest city, tree replanting must be done in areas that will be developed for Nusantara as well as in damaged sites within the province. And a huge number of plant seeds are required to realize the plan.

Therefore, the Indonesian government prioritizes the development of a 120-hectare nursery in Mentawir village, North Penajam Paser regency.

In the next six to seven months, the nursery is expected to produce 15 to 20 million tree seeds, including nyatoh, shorea, camphorwood, agarwood, and guavas.

In March, President Joko Widodo previously confirmed the forest city concept that will be implemented in Nusantara – and the necessary step to build a nursery.

“From there, we plant for forest rehabilitation at IKN Nusantara, so that the plants are not monocultures, the plants are endemic, local plants that can attract animals to enter, can attract birds, attract butterflies," he said on March 15.