The Balikpapan City Government is currently preparing a strategic project involving the construction of a sports center and a national-scale racing circuit. This flagship project is planned to stand on a 70-hectare plot of land located in Lamaru Ward, East Balikpapan District. The area is designed not only as a vehicle racing arena, but also as a hub for education and coaching for various sports disciplines.
The Chairman of Commission IV of the Balikpapan City Regional House of Representatives (DPRD), Gasali, revealed that the initial concept of this construction has undergone an expansion of function. Initially, the plan only focused on providing a racing track. However, seeing the high demand for representative sports infrastructure for the community, the concept was developed into a multifunctional integrated sports area.
This step was taken to accommodate the aspirations of the administrators of various sports branches (cabor) in Balikpapan, who have so far lacked official government-owned training facilities. Due to these limited facilities, a number of sports branches have been forced to use public spaces such as Merdeka Square to hold routine training sessions.
To support athlete development, the sport center area is proposed to have complete facilities, ranging from standard swimming pools, a bocce court, to a handball court. The presence of this centralized facility is expected to boost regional sports achievements while providing an active recreation space for residents.
Regarding the land status, Gasali ensured that the 70-hectare area in Lamaru is already clear and clean, and officially registered as an asset of the Balikpapan City Government. Thus, the implementation of the project in the future will not be hindered by land acquisition issues with local residents.
Currently, the local government is focusing on completing the Detailed Engineering Design (DED) phase, which is targeted for completion this year. The government aims for the physical construction of the circuit along with all its supporting facilities to begin in 2028, with the support of a well-prepared budget allocation.
