REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government is planning to build 10 new cities in Indonesia, including Tanjung Selor in North Kalimantan province, to encourage the equitable distribution of economic growth, National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Head Andrinof Chaniago stated.

"We will start building the 10 new cities during the tenure of the current government," Andrinof stated at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) here on Tuesday.

According to Andrinof, the government has completed a study to transform Tanjung Selor sub-district to become the capital of North Kalimantan province, the youngest province, which directly borders Malaysia. Tanjung Selor is a region spanning an area of 1,277 square kilometers, with its population reaching 42 thousand people.

Andrinof has highlighted the importance of building a new city with modern urban planning system as an instrument of human welfare.

"We have never built a city after the nation gained its independence. The cities that exist today are a legacy of the colonial era," he emphasized.

The government has allocated some funds in the draft revision of the state budget (APBN-P) for the construction of new cities.

Andrinof refrained from revealing details about the other new cities and the amount allocated in the budget. He only stated that some other territory in Kalimantan will be developed as the new city besides Tanjung Selor.

"If I announced the other new cities today, there will be a lot of speculations," he cautioned.

The idea of creating a new city became one of the government's efforts to encourage the distribution of economic growth. One of the government's key development targets is to create centers of economic growth outside Java.

Java's economic contribution has always dominated the national gross domestic product (GDP). In 2013, Java contributed 58 percent to the GDP, followed by Sumatra at 23.8 percent, Kalimantan at 9.6 percent, Sulawesi 4.8 percent, Maluku-Papua 2.2 percent, and Bali-Nusa Tenggara 2.8 percent.

In 2015, the government has targeted to improve the equitable distribution of economic benefits, measured by the Gini coefficient ratio, which is expected to fall to 0.4, the poverty rate to 10.3 percent, and the unemployment rate to reach 5.6 percent.

"This is one of the missions of the equalization project," Andrinof added.

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