September 5, 2024
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s new capital city Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), which is about 15 per cent completed, has released a smartphone application that will ultimately allow residents to access public services with a tap and a swipe.
Features are still being added to the IKNOW app, which was released in February. But users can already use it for basic needs such as contacting emergency services and navigating within the planned 250,000ha city in the forest.
The app is unique in that it is being built even while the brick-and-mortar city is being constructed, allowing it to anticipate services as they are conceptualised, ahead of their roll-outs.
For now, however, it has few users, given that the city is still mostly uninhabited.
During the country’s Independence Day celebrations on Aug 17, however, the app could be used by guests in IKN to connect to the internet, access information about the festivities and get discounts for shopping.
Upcoming features in the immediate future include finding electric vehicle charging stations, locating public services like healthcare, and receiving news updates, one of the leaders of the app development team, Mr Oscar Baskoro, told The Straits Times.
The aim for IKNOW is to offer “personalised and not generalised” public services like health, education, security and transport that are tailored to each user, said Mr Oscar, head of the Project Management Office (PMO) Smart City of the Nusantara Capital Authority, on Sept 4.
The app will ultimately allow residents to access public services with a tap and a swipe. SCREENGRAB: ST READER/THE STRAITS TIMES
Located more than 1,000km north-east of the current capital Jakarta, the US$32 billion (S$42 billion) capital city project was initially slated to have some 10,000 civil servants living there by now.
Indonesia has plans to eventually move nearly 33,000 of them to Nusantara, but the plans have been delayed, with the government citing the need to complete the housing complexes and digital infrastructure first to ensure a smooth transition.
The lack of residents has not stopped the app’s progress, said Mr Oscar, who noted one goal of the work is also to develop a digital identity for Nusantara residents.
The app can, for example, offer personalised services, based on the data from its users. “This separates the services that we will be able to offer”, compared to other apps, he said.
Once it identifies the user, IKNOW can offer personal recommendations for eateries or shops to visit, or help residents to file and pay their taxes.
Details on all the services that will ultimately be offered are still in the planning stage, he said, as the capital city is not fully running yet and does not have many inhabitants.
“The city is not yet operating and we’re building everything from scratch. We need to have a deep analysis of the users, and about the value proposition,” he said.
Residents of Nusantara will also be actively involved in the city’s planning and development process. In May, the online news site GovInsider reported Nusantara’s digital ecosystem development director Tonny Setiono as saying that residents will be able to submit suggestions or complaints through the app.
“Business players will also be facilitated with a single licensing application to make it easier for them to access licences according to applicable regulations,” said Mr Setiono.
The app development team is regularly engaging with those who will become IKN workers and residents to learn of their needs, said Mr Oscar.
For instance, based on feedback that incoming residents are interested in Kalimantan’s indigenous animal species, the team will be adding features in the app to notify users where such animals are located within the city, and provide information about them, Mr Oscar said.
The Nusantara Capital Authority is also collaborating with other tech teams and international partners to fulfill the IKN’s plan of becoming a smart city.
Among them are teams from Singapore, though Mr Oscar declined to reveal any project details, citing operational sensitivities.
He added, however, that he will be heading to Singapore in October to speak at Tech Week Singapore, which will bring together industry experts and business leaders at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) for discussions.
“Just like when people search for Singapore, and they see MBS, well, when people look up Indonesia 10 years from now, they will see IKN. They will see the technology that we’re building,” said Mr Oscar. “I look forward to working with many others to build the future of Indonesia.”