Indonesian business tycoons are moving ahead with an ambitious real estate project: building a new city in North Jakarta to boost tourism.
The city, called PIK 2, is being developed in a former poverty-stricken area now made up primarily of gated neighborhoods and golf courses, per Bloomberg.
While still largely in its conceptual phase, the project is now worth around $16 billion in market capitalization, the outlet reported.
The team behind the project is PT Pantai Indah Kapuk Dua, a development company formed as a collaboration between Agung Sedayu Group — run by entrepreneur Sugianto Kusuma — and Salim Group, led by billionaire Anthoni Salim.
Kusuma is the president, director, and owner of PT Pantai Indah Kapuk Dua, and both men are members of the influential group of ultra-wealthy businessmen known locally as the “Nine Dragons,” per Bloomberg.
According to Agung Sedayu Group’s website, PIK 2 will be “located approximately only 7 minutes from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport” and “will cover approximately 6,000 hectares.”
The development could, by its slated completion in 2060, feature amenities including a safari area and an international motor racetrack, per Forbes.
Bloomberg reported that the development may also include a theme park and that the project’s backers hope to make an appeal to major racing events, including Formula 1.
The Indonesian developers are also in touch with partners in China and Singapore to build a port at PIK 2 that would increase its appeal to international tourists, per Bloomberg.
However, the outlet reported the project’s owner said its continued expansion depends on global economic conditions.
“It’s going to require huge spending but we are not building everything in one go,” Kusuma told Bloomberg of PIK 2. “This isn’t a short-term project. It’s not going to be built just by me but future generations can continue it. But we want to lay down a foundation first.”
Kusuma’s project isn’t the only major development that’s happening in Indonesia.
In 2019, then-Indonesia President Joko Widodo said the government plans to relocate the country’s capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan.
The move — which involves a new city called Nusantara being built on the eastern coast of Borneo — is projected to cost Indonesia an estimated $35 billion. The project is set to be completed by 2045.
Representatives for Kusuma at PT Pantai Indah Kapuk Dua and Agung Sedayu Group did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
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