JAKARTA - Indonesia’s new capital city Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), which is about 15 per cent completed, has released a smartphone application that will ultimately allow residents to access public services with a tap and a swipe.

Features are still being added to the IKNOW app, which was released in February. But users can already use it for basic needs such as contacting emergency services and navigating within the planned 250,000ha city in the forest.

The app is unique in that it is being built even while the brick-and-mortar city is being constructed, allowing it to anticipate services as they are conceptualised, ahead of their roll-outs.

For now, however, it has few users, given that the city is still mostly uninhabited.

During the country’s Independence Day celebrations on Aug 17, however, the app could be used by guests in IKN to connect to the internet, access information about the festivities and get discounts for shopping.

Upcoming features in the immediate future include finding electric vehicle charging stations, locating public services like healthcare, and receiving news updates, one of the leaders of the app development team, Mr Oscar Baskoro, told The Straits Times. 

The aim for IKNOW is to offer “personalised and not generalised” public services like health, education, security and transport that are tailored to each user, said Mr Oscar,...