HomePre-construction and planning
In the late 2000s to early 2010s, plans had emerged that a new home stadium for Persija Jakarta would be built in 26.5 hectares of land near the BMW Park (Indonesian: Taman BMW (Bersih, Manusiawi dan Berwibawa)) in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, where squatters had been illegally building homes for the last few years.The stadium was to be named 'BMW Stadium' after the aforementioned neighbouring park and was scheduled to be built by 2013 and completed by 2015.The stadium had a planned capacity of 50,000 and was originally planned to feature a running track. This stadium was to be a replacement of Lebak Bulus Stadium which was demolished for the Jakarta MRT train depot.By 2014, the stadium's construction hadn't commenced since the owner of the land is still disputed by the former squatters and the city government. New plans had been discussed to build the stadium with a brand new design with 80,000 capacity for the 2018 Asian Games,
but later the plans were cancelled and the government opted to renovate the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium later in 2016.
After multiple series of failed planning and construction, the land dispute was over and it was ready to be cleared for construction in 2017, and buildings of former squatters was later demolished. Two years after the land was cleared, an official plan was released for a stadium of 82,000 capacity with a retractable roof and without a running track, unlike the previous project designs over the years. The newly designed project was given the name 'Jakarta International Stadium' and broke ground on 14 March 2019 with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan kicking off the construction.Since the construction has started, the affected neighbouring residents of Kampung Bayam has asked for compensation for damages and most residents has moved out of the area.
Construction
The stadium construction started in September 2019. The construction of the stadium hasn't been halted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit safety precautions and medical check-ups for workers has been implemented.Due to the pandemic, the construction progress slowed down caused by the decrease of construction workers and delay of construction materials being shipped and transported for the project. This problem has pushed the estimated opening date from October 2021 to April 2022
On 4 June 2021, the lifting of the steel roof truss began. The three-phased lifting was completed on 17 June 2021, just under 2 weeks after it was started.The main truss has a total mass of 3,900 tons and has a length of 70 metres (230 ft). Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan claimed that the lifting was the biggest and heaviest ever done on a stadium roof in the world,
and earned a MURI record for the Heaviest Lifting of Stadium Roof Structure on 28 July 2021. The stadium also earned two other records for the First Retractable Roof Stadium in Indonesia and the First Stadium to be a Platinum Green Building in Indonesia certified using GREENSHIP Rating Tool of Green Building Council Indonesia (GBC Indonesia).
On 10 December 2021, the construction of the sheet metal roof has been completed, while the stadium has reached 87,85% completion.The next day, the sound system, floodlights, and hybrid grass was tested, with Fadly, the vocalist of rock band Padi, performing for the construction workers in the stadium.
Opening
The stadium finally had its soft opening on 13 April 2022, to coincide with the first matchday of the 2021 International Youth Championship, a friendly cup participated by the youth teams of Indonesia, Barcelona, Bali United, and Atlético Madrid. It was held from 13 to 19 April 2022. The group stage matches of the championship was scheduled to be held in the newly renovated Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Bali, but the stadium was withdrawn due to COVID-19 restrictions.[21] The competition was hosted in the stadium to "show the world that European-quality stadiums will be an icon of Indonesia" said Gede Widiade, the chairman of Pancoran Soccer Field, the organizer of the event.[23] On 19 April, Barcelona U-18 won the competition after winning 1–0 in the final match against Atlético Madrid U-18.
