The Indonesian government apparently is not playing around with building a new capital city (IKN). Like developed countries, the capital, which is located in East Kalimantan, will later have roads that can become runways for airplanes.
Head of the IKN Infrastructure Development Implementation Task Force Danis Hidayat Sumadilaga said this plan mirrored that of neighboring countries which had adopted a similar concept.
“We are considering a primary arterial road (IKN). We are considering it as an aircraft runway. It is 1-2 kilometers long,” he said as quoted on Sunday (15/1).
Danis said that his party would choose certain locations in the IKN that could become runways, aka aircraft runways. However, he has not specified which paths are potential.
Not only can it be a place for planes to land, but the roads in IKN will also be free of electricity cables. Danis said the electricity system is stored underground in a box alias multi-purpose utility tunnels (MUTs).
“On the roads, there will be multi tunnels for utilities. So there (new capital) will be no cables, yes there are, but temporarily because the box hasn’t been made yet,” explained Danis.
Similar to the Infrastructure of Developed Countries
The road which can double as an airplane runway will imitate the concept of developed countries, such as Germany and Singapore.
Germany has the A44 motorway that connects two industrial cities, the Rhine and the Ruhr in central Germany.
The road ran straight and level at the end of a long bend. From the end of the same bend, a piece of land in the middle of the road that is overgrown with grass and serves to separate lanes in different directions on the highway is gone, replaced by ordinary asphalt.
The road was designed to be a secret German military airstrip. If war breaks out, a section of the highway will turn into an emergency airstrip for military aircraft.
Besides Germany, fighter planes in Singapore can even land on highways adjacent to settlements.
It took Singapore just 48 hours to move traffic lights, street lamps, bus stops, and traffic signs so that the city’s streets could be used as airstrips.
The aircraft runway on the highway is also equipped with a mobile control tower, runway lights, distance markers, and arrestor gear, a piece of wire specifically designed to assist the aircraft’s braking system.
Development Progress of the New Capital
Furthermore, apart from these innovations, the progress of infrastructure development in IKN as a whole has only reached 12 to 15 percent. However, there are already several projects that are almost 100 percent completed.
The Sepaku Semoi Dam is one the proofs that the infrastructure is almost complete. Currently, the progress has reached 82 percent and is targeted for completion in June 2023.
There are also flats for construction workers and experts which are targeted to be completed soon. A total of 22 flats for IKN workers are scheduled to be completed next month.
Then, construction of the State Palace began. The IKN State Palace is located in Sepaku District, North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan. However, the development of this area has only reached the land formation stage.
In addition to the central government core area (KIPP), IKN also consists of various areas. 9 areas were built, including economic centers for tourism.
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