The Balikpapan City Government is taking serious steps to transform 70 hectares of idle land in the Lamaru area, East Balikpapan, into a representative racing arena. As the initial stage of building the sports infrastructure, the local government is now prioritizing the drafting of the Detail Engineering Design (DED) document.
The Head of the Balikpapan City Youth, Sports, and Tourism Department (Disparpora), Cokorda Ratih Kusuma, explained that drafting the DED is crucial as it will serve as the primary basis for determining the physical design, construction phases, and estimated total budget required. Her office is striving to prioritize the allocation of this planning budget in the upcoming Revised Regional Budget (APBD Perubahan) discussions.
Based on the results of the field inspection, the land prepared since 2014 is confirmed to be legally secure (clear and clean). The circuit project is planned to be developed in phases, with an initial focus on meeting national standards before eventually being upgraded to international qualifications.
The presence of this circuit is not only expected to accommodate automotive sports enthusiasts but also to trigger new economic activity in East Balikpapan. In addition to boosting the tourism sector, this project is projected to strengthen Balikpapan's bargaining power as a Meeting, Incentive, Conference, and Exhibition (MICE) city, as well as a primary buffer zone for the Nusantara Capital City (IKN).
Previously, Balikpapan Deputy Mayor Bagus Susetyo directly inspected the strategic land in the Lamaru area. The presence of this integrated sports infrastructure is believed to transform the long-unutilized regional asset into a new hub for economic growth and investment.
