Last year Tangerang alone received an investment of 516 million USD for infrastructure and industry development. Explain in detail about the investment environment you have created in Tangerang city

I personally see Tangerang as the most strategically located city in Indonesia due to its proximity to the Soekarno Hatta International Airport. We are seeking to develop Tangerang into an Airport Based Global City of tomorrow. Infrastructure gaps in Indonesia mean you are required to face traffic for up to 2 hours in all major cities, but Tangerang is offering a convenient alternative.

You can fly from Tangerang to Singapore in 2 hours or any corner of the country without facing traffic to reach the airport. Soekarno Hatta is operating 72 flights per hour and almost 66 million passengers pass through the airport per year. This has increased demand from companies looking to move their offices here.

The Indonesian business magazine SWA has ranked Tangerang among the top three most investable cities in Indonesia. On top of the great location next to the airport Tangerang has two toll roads and by the end of this year we will have the third one ready including an express train from the airport. We host all the major airline companies Lion Air, Air Asia etc., who are moving their offices to Tangerang. Equally some of the biggest developers are also based here, such as Alam Sutra, Lippo Karawaci or Sumarecon. I hardly go to Jakarta anymore, because everything you would need is already here;, shopping malls, education, access to transportation – everything.

Now with the plan to improve the infrastructure in Jakarta, you will also have a better connection towards Tangerang?

We are working together with Jakarta on an elevated bus way from Blok M in Jakarta to Ciledug in Tangerang. Many people live in Tangerang, but work in Jakarta and vice-versa. We are not in competition, but we try to collaborate and support each other.

How would you as mayor of Tangerang describe your vision for Tangerang and also what kind of philosophy would you like to highlight to an international readership?

We have our city plan 2020 which focuses on achieving high living standards for all our residents. Tangerang shall grow out of the suburban role, supporting Jakarta, to become a city in its own right and flourish even further. We already see this transition happening in terms of the amount of companies that are choosing a strategic location outside Jakarta.

Last year we started our program “Tangerang Smart City”; this includes integration of all our applications within the department and a geo spatial system mapping the city so we have even more accurate data. The result should be to encourage all of the community to be an integral part of the city.

The city also wants to bring people together so we are organizing festivals in the sub district areas including a Ramadan Cup Festival, an Independence festival in August and youth festival in October. All the programs of the city are meant to encourage the philosophy that every citizen is a stakeholder in Tangerang city.

Give us some example of how these smart city apps translate into practice, and how does your city stand out from other cities like Surabaya and Bandung who are also engaging in this?

It is no surprise that nowadays we manage the city with the help of technology. We have 40.000 city servants for which we created a login system so that they can report on their location. If there is a pot-hole in the street or something damaged in the city they can take a picture and send it to the “Tangerang Live Room” where we manage 5 departments: infrastructure, city police, environment, telecoms and transportation. If we know of an area with a reported problem, the closest city servant will offer assistance to them. This is how we can maximize efficiency.

We are also proud to have Apple collaborating with one of the Universities in Tangerang – BINUS University. It’s indicative that we can offer the conditions for this deal to happen: if a tech giant as Apple has their lab in Tangerang they will entice many other IT companies, and our tech collaborations will develop exponentially in the future.

Indonesia was recently named investment grade from all 3 major rating agencies, the first time since 1997. How can Indonesia capitalize on this?

More large companies can now come to Indonesia and invest in the country. Needless to say, this is a big encouragement for us all and also an opportunity for them.

“The mayors of the major cities, are doing our best to develop the infrastructure and accommodate the investment in the best way possible. The new capital will create new jobs and raise the standard of our cities.”