ANR SPECIAL REPORT
‘Don’t Tax the World’s Busiest Shipping Lane. Build the World’s Next Great City.’
LUX Property Group Founder Jamie McIntyre Calls for Six New Master-Planned Cities Across Indonesia, Including a New ‘Malacca City’
By Jamie McIntyre
Chief Editor, Australian National Review
JAKARTA, Indonesia.
As geopolitical tensions continue to focus global attention on the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints, Australian National Review Chief Editor Jamie McIntyre believes Indonesia has a once-in-a-century opportunity to reshape its economic future.
Rather than imposing tolls on vessels using the Strait of Malacca, McIntyre argues Indonesia should create something far more valuable: an entirely new world-class city.
Recent international discussion surrounding possible transit fees through strategic waterways has placed renewed attention on the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s most critical maritime corridors. Indonesian officials have since reaffirmed that the government has no plans to impose tolls and remains committed to freedom of navigation, a position McIntyre says is the correct long-term strategy. (Reuters)
“The wealthiest nations don’t simply tax commerce,” McIntyre said.
“They become indispensable to commerce.”
The World’s Economic Superhighway
The Strait of Malacca is arguably the single most important shipping corridor on Earth.
Stretching approximately 900 kilometres between Sumatra, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, it connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans and provides the shortest maritime route between Europe, the Middle East and East Asia.
According to recent international shipping data:
* Nearly 22% of global maritime trade passes through the Strait.
* Around 23.2 million barrels of oil per day transit the waterway, representing approximately 29% of global seaborne oil shipments.
* More than 102,500 commercial vessels used the Strait during 2025, making it the busiest maritime chokepoint in the world. (Reuters)
Indonesia occupies the entire western shoreline of the Strait along Sumatra, giving the nation one of the world’s greatest geographic economic advantages.
McIntyre believes that advantage has only begun to be realised.
Build Another Singapore… But Better
Instead of levying transit charges on passing ships, McIntyre proposes Indonesia establish Malacca City, a brand-new master-planned city designed for more than two million residents.
Located on Indonesia’s Sumatran coastline, the proposed city would be developed as one of Asia’s premier aviation, logistics, finance and maritime centres.
“It shouldn’t simply become another Indonesian city,” McIntyre said.
“It should become one of the world’s great commercial cities. A place where international companies choose to base themselves because it is efficient, beautiful, safe and globally connected.”
His proposal includes:
* One of Southeast Asia’s largest deep-water container ports.
* A major international airport capable of becoming a regional aviation hub.
* Free-trade and bonded logistics zones.
* Maritime engineering and ship maintenance facilities.
* Crew-change and pilotage centres serving international shipping.
* International financial and insurance services.
* Technology parks and AI innovation precincts.
* Universities specialising in logistics, engineering and maritime sciences.
* International hospitals and education facilities.
* Luxury residential precincts designed to attract expatriates, entrepreneurs and skilled professionals.
* Modern public transport, green spaces and smart-city infrastructure.
A Dubai-Style Economic Zone
McIntyre believes Indonesia should consider establishing the city as a globally competitive economic zone similar in concept to Dubai’s international financial and commercial districts.
Lower taxes, streamlined approvals, strong investor protections, modern infrastructure and world-class planning could encourage billions of dollars of domestic and foreign investment.
“The government doesn’t need to build every skyscraper,” McIntyre said.
“It simply needs to provide the land, the core infrastructure, planning certainty and investment incentives. The private sector will build the city.”
Six New Cities for Indonesia
The Malacca City proposal forms part of McIntyre’s broader vision for Indonesia to develop six new master-planned cities, each designed for populations exceeding two million people.
He argues Indonesia’s population of nearly 300 million and rapidly expanding economy require new urban centres rather than allowing Jakarta and Bali to become increasingly congested.
Potential locations include strategic areas throughout Sumatra, Lombok, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and eastern Indonesia, each designed around regional economic strengths including logistics, tourism, technology, manufacturing and renewable energy.
“Indonesia has the land, the workforce, the natural resources and one of the best strategic locations on Earth,” McIntyre said.
“It now has the opportunity to become one of the world’s great economic powers through intelligent urban planning.”
From Vision to Reality
McIntyre’s own development company, LUX Property Group, has already begun implementing elements of that vision.
The company is behind the planned Nesara Bay City development in South Lombok, a large eco-city project where civil works have commenced, while the project continues through its remaining planning and regulatory approval processes. The development is planned as a modern, environmentally focused city integrating residential, tourism, hospitality and commercial precincts.
LUX Property Group has also proposed assisting the development of Indonesia’s future capital, Nusantara, with a major eco-resort concept that includes a convention centre, a large man-made lagoon and beach precinct, hospitality facilities and an expatriate-focused mixed-use district designed to complement the government’s vision for the new capital.
McIntyre believes Nusantara represents an important first step toward decentralising Indonesia’s economy beyond Jakarta.
However, he argues Indonesia’s long-term growth will ultimately require multiple new urban centres rather than relying on one new capital city alone.
Adding Value Instead of Charging for Access
McIntyre believes the greatest economic returns will come not from charging ships to pass Indonesia’s coastline, but by creating reasons for global commerce to stop there.
Every ship that docks creates employment.
Every logistics company establishes offices.
Every airline opens routes.
Every multinational establishes regional headquarters.
Every university attracts talent.
Every convention fills hotels.
Every expatriate spends money locally.
Rather than collecting a modest transit fee, Indonesia could build an ecosystem generating billions of dollars annually through logistics, aviation, tourism, finance, technology, manufacturing and professional services.
“It is the difference between collecting a toll and building an economy,” McIntyre said.
“The Strait of Malacca is already one of the world’s great economic highways.”
“Indonesia now has an extraordinary opportunity to build one of the world’s great cities beside it.”
“And if Indonesia successfully develops six internationally competitive master-planned cities over coming decades, future generations may look back on this period as the moment the nation fully unlocked its enormous economic potential.”
