The Indonesian government will develop self-driving cars in the plans for Nusantara, its new capital city in East Kalimantan. According to Moeldoko, Chief of the Presidential Staff Office and chairman of the Indonesian Electric Vehicle Industry Association, Periklindo, this move is aligned with the vision of making Nusantara a model city for electric vehicles.
It would have a trial phase of autonomous vehicles in Nusantara, which would jump significantly toward the realization of this futuristic vision for the city, according to Moeldoko. He further stressed that the government is not pushing for the setup of an EV manufacturing hub in Nusantara since the city is not an industrial zone. Rather, courtship of businesses for support in its integration and the operation of autonomous vehicles within the city’s ecosystem is called for.
This move toward the adoption of self-driving cars reflects a broad commitment from the government to establish a sustainable and technologically advanced urban environment. Moeldoko reiterated the call made to the players in the EV industry to contribute to the creation of a robust EV ecosystem in Nusantara, which may become a model for other cities within Indonesia or even across the globe. According to Agung Wicaksono, deputy for financing and investment at Nusantara Capital City Authority, or OIKN, there is huge interest from national and international companies regarding being a part of the EV ecosystem of Nusantara. These companies include the Singaporean transportation operator ComfortDelGro, Chinese EV maker BYD, and the Czech carmaker Skoda. Domestic companies such as PT Blue Bird and state-owned Damri are also backing this.
State-owned electricity firm PLN has already installed as many as six solar-powered public charging stations across Nusantara to support the adoption of electric vehicles. It is into this kind of infrastructure development that the operation of electric and autonomous vehicles is harnessed and furthers the commitment of cities to sustainability.
Integration of self-driving cars into Nusantara’s development plan is, in principle, a declaration of ambition by the Indonesian government to stand at the vanguard with respect to sustainable urban development. The stakeholders—both international and domestic firms—involved prove it will take many joined hands to make such visions real.
