"Around 75 percent of the 252 thousand hectares of IKN land has been planted with Kalimantan's endemic plants," he remarked in Jakarta on Saturday.
Of the total land area at IKN, only 25 percent is used for the development of office areas.
"As compared to Jakarta, four times the size of Jakarta is only 25 percent of what we utilize for offices and others," Alimudin remarked.
He noted that by 2035, IKN residents will be able to exist alongside floral and faunal species by planting Kalimantan's endemic plants.
"In 2035, the environment in East Kalimantan will have its flora and fauna or even proboscis monkeys," Alimudin remarked.
He also emphasized that IKN's construction was carried out in the Industrial Plantation Forest (HTI) area without trespassing on the forest.
"The international world is watching us. (They say) we carried out some deforestation. It is false. The IKN is built on HTI land. We did not trespass other forests," he elaborated.
Related news: Ministry to plant 52,000 trees on IKN toll road corridor
He then denied the issues of eviction of local communities as well.
"Regarding issues of local communities' eviction, that is also a lie. If such a practice exists, I will take responsibility," he stated.
However, Alimudin admitted that land conflicts were also being experienced at the OIKN, though he did not go into further details. He only stated that the problem would be solved as soon as possible.
"We are resolving the land dispute. After all, the government has been very responsive to IKN," he stated.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) has prepared a budget for land compensation for residents affected by IKN's construction.
"We have prepared around Rp90 billion for compensation," PUPR Minister and Acting Head of OIKN, Basuki Hadimuljono, noted in a statement from his office on Saturday.
He stated that an integrated team, comprising members from the provincial and district governments, the PUPR Ministry, OIKN, and the National Land Agency (BPN), is preparing the compensation.
Related news: PUPR Ministry readies US$5.5 million to compensate land owners at IKN
Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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