Ever since Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), the planned new national capital, was designated in East Kalimantan, offers of land “near IKN” have kept appearing, from small plots to many hectares. Some are sold on social media to buyers who have never seen the place.

This guide is for anyone thinking of buying land around IKN, to live on, to run a business or as an investment. We won’t guess where prices are heading. Instead, it covers what to check so your money doesn’t end up in a problem plot.

Where IKN is and how it is being built

IKN lies in Penajam Paser Utara regency, around Sepaku, and in part of Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan. Its legal basis is the State Capital Law (UU No. 3 Tahun 2022), amended by UU No. 21 Tahun 2023. The area is run by the Otorita IKN, the capital’s governing authority.

It is being built in stages. Roads, offices and housing don’t appear everywhere at once, and much of the surrounding land is still state forest zone or inside plantation and forestry concessions.

So “near IKN” can mean inside the IKN area, somewhere in the neighbouring regencies, or tens of kilometres from where building is happening. Ask for the exact coordinates from the start.

Prices shaped by expectations

Some offers are priced on stories about the future: a planned road, a planned district, talk of a coming project. Those stories are not the same as sales that have actually happened.

Ask the seller what the price is based on, meaning real sales nearby, not other people’s asking prices. Plans can also change in place and timing. A more useful question is whether the plot would still be worth buying if the plans around it were delayed. How to read such plans is covered in infrastructure and property values.

One more thing to keep in mind. Land in the path of a planned road or government facility can be taken through the state’s land acquisition process. The compensation is set by an appraisal, not by what you paid.

Check where the plot sits against the IKN area

Transfers of land rights inside the IKN area are under special control by the Otorita IKN. In practice, a sale there takes more than an agreement between seller and buyer.

  • Find out whether the plot is inside the IKN area. The safe way is to take its coordinates to the Otorita IKN or the Kantor Pertanahan (the district land office), rather than relying on the seller’s map.
  • Ask the Otorita IKN and the local Kantor Pertanahan what a transfer of that plot requires.
  • If a seller tells you no approval of any kind is needed for land inside the IKN area, treat it as a warning sign.

Outside the IKN area, the usual land transfer rules apply. The checks in the next section still matter.

Forest zones, concessions and overlapping claims

Land inside kawasan hutan (the state forest zone) cannot simply be certified. Land inside a plantation or forestry concession is not something you can hold with peace of mind either, because someone else holds a permit over it.

Uncertified land in Kalimantan is often held only under a Surat Keterangan Tanah (SKT) from the lurah or village head, an old segel letter, or a sporadik (a statement of physical possession). These show a history of possession, not a right to the land. Our guide to SKT and segel letters explains them.

Claims can stack up: two SKTs from different years for one plot, claims by local people, or claims by a company. How to check:

  1. Ask for the boundary coordinates and visit the site yourself.
  2. Ask the forestry authorities in East Kalimantan whether the point lies in the forest zone.
  3. Open the parcel map in BHUMI, the online map run by the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR/BPN), then ask the Kantor Pertanahan whether there is already a certificate on that spot or next to it.
  4. Ask the village or kelurahan office whether the SKT is in its register, when it was issued and who signed it.
  5. Meet the neighbours on every boundary.
  6. Ask whether the location falls inside a Hak Guna Usaha (HGU, a company’s right to cultivate state land) or another concession.

Spatial plans and access

The land’s designated use decides what can be built on it. For a plot inside the IKN area, ask the Otorita IKN about its spatial plan. Outside it, ask the spatial planning office of Penajam Paser Utara or Kutai Kartanegara, and look at GISTARU, the ministry’s online spatial plan map. The steps are in our guide on checking zoning before you buy.

For access, what counts is the road that exists today, not the one in a plan.

  • Is it asphalt, dirt, or just a plantation track?
  • Who owns the road? A road on someone else’s land can be closed at any time.
  • Has the grid of PLN, the state electricity company, or a water supply reached the area?
  • What is the land like? Swamp, steep slopes or old excavation pits all add cost if you build later.

Beware of online “kavling IKN” offers

Warning signs in online offers:

  • A price far below other offers nearby, explained as a promotion or a launch price.
  • A vague address, no coordinates, or photos that can’t be matched to the site.
  • Promises of a certificate for each plot with no master certificate number you can check.
  • Pressure to pay a deposit quickly before the plot is taken.
  • A personal bank account in a name that differs from the landowner’s.
  • A seller who refuses to meet you at the site or go to the Kantor Pertanahan together.

If you live far from the site, don’t buy on the strength of photos or videos sent by the seller. Go yourself, or ask someone you know who has no connection to the seller.

Hold on to one rule. Pay nothing, not even a deposit, until the owner’s identity, the land papers, the location and the forest zone status have all been checked.

Time horizon and resale

Building in stages means your land may sit for years without earning anything. Meanwhile there are costs: PBB (the annual land and building tax), keeping the boundary markers in place, and visiting regularly so nobody encroaches. Add the costs that come when you finally register or build: surveying, registration, taxes and preparing the land.

Reselling is not always easy either. The next buyer will ask the same questions about papers, forest zones and access. Land with clean documents is easier to sell than land with only a story behind it.

Choosing a location for investment is covered in how to pick a property location.

Before you pay

  1. Ask for the coordinates, copies of the land papers and the owner’s identity.
  2. Visit the site and meet the neighbours and village officials.
  3. Check with the Otorita IKN, the Kantor Pertanahan and the forestry authorities.
  4. Check the spatial plan and the road access.
  5. If the land only has an SKT, plan its registration from the start and include the cost in your numbers.
  6. Sign the sale before a PPAT (Pejabat Pembuat Akta Tanah, a land deed official), and pay into an account in the name of the rightful owner.

If you are weighing up land in East Kalimantan or elsewhere in Kalimantan, you can ask Vorneo on WhatsApp.