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Langgam Pos - The Palace has confirmed that it has rented only a few hundred vehicles for the 79th Independence Day celebration at the New Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan. Transportation of guests to and from IKN, particularly the Government Central Core Area (KIPP), will be prioritized using the prepared buses.
"The transportation for guests to and from IKN, especially in the KIPP area, will be prioritized using mass transit like buses," said Secretary of the State Secretariat Ministry, Setya Utama, on Wednesday (August 7, 2024).
He explained that other vehicles are designated for President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana, as well as contingency vehicles such as backup cars and ambulances.
"Operational vehicles are also needed for logistics and transportation, such as trucks and cargo vans. In total, we have only about a hundred vehicles," he added.
Setya emphasized that the number of buses prepared by the organizing committee does not reach 1,000 units as rumored. According to him, only about 200 buses are provided for transporting ceremony troops and guests.
"The number of buses provided by the transportation committee (Ministry of Transportation, OIKN, and local government) is around 200, far from 1,000 units, for the transportation of ceremony troops and guests," Setya explained.
State Secretary Denies Rental of 1,000 Vehicles for RI Independence Day
Previously, State Secretary Pratikno denied the claim of renting 1,000 Alphard vehicles at Rp25 million per day per unit for state guests invited to the Independence Day ceremony at IKN.
Pratikno expressed surprise when asked about this claim by the media.
"For what purpose? For the ceremony?" Pratikno questioned at the State Secretariat Ministry office in Jakarta on Tuesday (August 6, 2024).
Pratikno elaborated that the infrastructure at IKN is still very limited. He detailed that the toll road from Balikpapan to IKN is not yet fully completed.
Similarly, the airport is expected to be finished by late August or early September.
"So for the proclamation ceremony at IKN, we are still facing transportation infrastructure challenges," Pratikno explained.
Plan to Rent Buses
To address these limitations, Pratikno stated that the current plan is to rent buses to facilitate transportation for the state guests invited to IKN.
"Therefore, we will use buses to facilitate transportation to the ceremony location," Pratikno said.
He assured that the Palace does not face budget issues for renting buses. However, he was not certain about the exact cost or number of buses to be rented.
"The ceremony is funded by the state, so there are no issues. It’s the same every year. (Bus rental cost?) Oh, I don’t know, I don’t remember," he concluded.
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