Sustainable Infrastructure Forum: IKN becomes a foundation for reducing carbon emissions
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Forum Infrastruktur Berkelanjutan: IKN jadi pijakan penurunan emisi karbon
16 March 2023
By: M.G Noviarizal Fernandez and Sholahuddin Al Ayyubi
Jakarta - Nusantara Capital City (IKN) development has become a momentum for Indonesia to commence the initiative of constructing sustainable infrastructures and to boost the commitment in carbon emission reduction.
In numerous opportunities, President Joko Widodo always said that IKN is a point of transformation for a new civilization in Indonesia that will be built using the smart city, forest city, and sponge city concepts that will benefit advancement in the country.
In Bappenas’ concept, IKN will be built and developed using 20% of the available lands, so the rest will be maintained as a green area in the form of forests. This is part of Indonesia’s commitment to handling climate change.
Besides that, regarding the environmental approach, a sponge city and a forest city have a circular water system that merges architecture, urban planning design, infrastructure, a sustainable principle, as well as ecological and economic loads that will be borne by IKN so that they do not surpass the threshold, which is what occurred in the current capital city, Jakarta.
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that his ministry has received a large assignment to develop IKN using the smart forest city concept that has sustainable construction technical requirements.
“IKN implements a slender construction principle that utilises information technologies that support zero waste, such as integrated urban water management, water utility integration, and integrated urban water management that is based on an urban water cycle, an urban water management system, and drinking water provision that will be observed with information technologies to be effective and efficient,” he said in a written speech read by Water Resources Director General Jarot Widoyoko of the PUPR Ministry at Sustainable Infrastructure Forum on Wednesday (15/3/2023).
He continued that, to present an eco-friendly and futuristic city, a comprehensive collaboration among all parties, such as the government, business players, academicians, and the media, is required. He said that all parties need to work hard hand in hand to make the large agenda successful and to disseminate the use of eco-friendly construction materials.
According to him, carbon emission reduction is the main course in Indonesia’s future construction concepts, which include IKN development as emission is the main cause of global warming that triggers climate change and extreme weather. He said that that has been proven and felt by all parties.
“A temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius increases the frequency of disasters and weather intensity. At COP-26 in 2021, President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia targets to achieve net zero emission in 2060. In 2015 Paris Agreement, Indonesia is committed to reducing greenhouse gas by 29% independently or by 41% with international support,” he added.
He continued that the construction sector plays a large role as greenhouse gas produced by construction activities is significant. The PUPR Ministry is committed to reducing carbon emission by implementing sustainable construction and green infrastructure that are continuously synergised.
To provide support, according to him, a construction supply chain that consists eco-friendly local products is required. A concrete step has been taken with PUPR Minister Regulation No. 5/2015 on General Guidelines on the Implementation of Sustainable Construction in the Administration of Infrastructure in the Public Works and Housing Sector that has been renewed with PUPR Minister Regulation No. 9/2021 on Guidelines on Sustainable Construction Implementation. A more concrete step has been taken with PUPR Minister Instruction No. 4/2020 on Use of Non-ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in Construction Work in the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing.
The use of the specification is believed to reduce carbon emission and boost cement material specification accuracy for construction activities. A research from the PUPR Ministry’s Research and Development Body states that non-OPC has a similar performance, so all government elements are expected to use eco-friendly materials, such as non-OPC, that have fulfilled Indonesia’s national standard for concrete classification.
IKN Infrastructure Development Task Force Chairperson Danis Hidayat Sumadilaga said that, in IKN development, his agency has a strategy to implement the smart city concept to reduce carbon emission as it will be a forest city that uses a forest-structured landscape, a sponge city that merges infrastructure, design, and sustainable urban planning, as well as a smart city that maximises the use of information technology.
“We have prepared all of the KPIs in the form of targets with eight aspects that include low carbon emission,” he said when he was a speaker in the first session of the forum.
He continued that IKN’s design and engineering process uses a collaborative work principle that utilises and integrates building information modelling (BIM) and geographic information system (GIS). In a smart construction, the construction process is observed in real time, which includes document management, design and construction approvals, and non-OPC cement use.
Meanwhile, IKN Green Transformation and Digital Authority Deputy Mohammed Ali Betawi who was also a speaker in the first session said that infrastructure construction is one of the main drivers for economic growth and modern infrastructure development. So, it needs to pay attention to the environmental aspect, which includes the use of materials that can improve competitiveness in the highly competitive global environment.
According to him, to develop IKN sustainably, a positive collaboration among all parties is required. Regarding the government, he said that they can provide support by developing green procurement regulations, promoting local and natural material markets, and improving the performance of local content by establishing regulations. Meanwhile, the industrial sector can provide support by utilising eco-friendly products and materials.
“The architect profession sector can provide support by committing to the use of low-emission materials. If the project owner can reduce carbon emission in the manufacturing process, material producers can act as educators of eco-friendly materials,” he explained.
