The need for basic services will certainly increase significantly along with the influx of new residents…Jakarta (ANTARA) - The quality of basic services, such as health and education, must be improved in the buffer areas of the new national capital (IKN) Nusantara in East Kalimantan, Presidential Staff Office (KSP) deputy II Abetnego Tarigan said.
"The need for basic services will certainly increase significantly along with the influx of new residents into the IKN area and its surroundings. This must be balanced with improving the quality of services in the health and education sectors," he expounded during a coordination meeting with the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday.
In an official statement received in Jakarta, Tarigan said that in the health sector, service improvement can be carried out by raising the status of hospitals in IKN Nusantara's buffer areas, such as Sepaku and Samboja. The only hospitals available in the two areas are type D and C hospitals.
"This must be upgraded to types A and B. Of course, this effort requires budget support for additional human resources (HR) and qualified health infrastructure," he added.
He stressed that investment in the education sector in IKN Nusantara's buffer areas is also important. Currently, the East Kalimantan provincial government and the North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara district governments are coordinating with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology to improve the quality of education from the level of early childhood education to universities.
"The prospect of cooperation between the IKN Authority and several educational institutions that want to invest in IKN also exists," Tarigan informed.
He said he believes that efforts to fulfill basic services must be supported by building connectivity, especially in IKN buffer areas so that the new capital's development has a chain effect on buffer areas.
"We hope that the carrying capacity of partner regions can be increased in order to maximize the impact produced," he added.
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Translator: Indra Arief Pribadi, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Sri Haryati
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