National Nutrition Agency Confirms Planned Move into Former Telkom Headquarters
Kabarsaji.com – The question that dominated Indonesian social media feeds this week — whether the newly empowered National Nutrition Agency (Badan Gizi Nasional, BGN) would absorb a major telecommunications office tower in South Jakarta — has been answered. Agency head Sudaryono confirmed on Thursday, September 3, 2026, that BGN intends to occupy the Graha Merah Putih complex on Jalan Gatot Subroto, a building long associated with Telkom, the state-owned telecommunications giant. The transition, he indicated, should be completed within one to two months.
A New Home for a High-Profile Agency
BGN was created to coordinate Indonesia’s Free Nutritious Meal (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) program, a sweeping government initiative aimed at delivering subsidized meals to schoolchildren, pregnant women, and other priority groups. The agency’s 2027 budget proposal, which Sudaryono has put forward at roughly Rp240 trillion, places it among the most expensive line items in the national fiscal plan. Given that scale of operation, the question of where the agency physically sits has drawn outsized attention, particularly because the proposed new address is one of the most recognizable corporate landmarks in the capital.
Graha Merah Putih, a mid-rise office structure along the busy Gatot Subroto corridor, has served as a Telkom headquarters for years. Telkom’s corporate assets now fall under the stewardship of the Investment Management Agency of Danantara (BPI Danantara), the state investment body that consolidates management of former state-owned enterprise holdings. Sudaryono explained that BGN has formally submitted a relocation request and that Danantara is processing the paperwork.
“We are currently coordinating with Danantara, and in the near future, 100% of the National Nutrition Body will occupy Graha Merah Putih, which is currently Telkom’s office,” Sudaryono told members of DPR Commission IX during a working session in Jakarta.
What Happens to Telkom’s Staff?
A natural follow-up question — raised by lawmakers and echoed online — concerned the fate of the employees who currently work inside Graha Merah Putih. Sudaryono addressed the point directly, noting that Telkom personnel would shift to a taller structure located immediately behind the complex.
“The current occupants of Graha Merah Putih will relocate to the Telkom building behind it, which is taller,” he said, adding that the arrangement had been factored into the coordination discussions with Danantara.
The former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, who entered the BGN role after serving in the Gerindra Party’s parliamentary ranks, framed the move as a practical matter of space and proximity rather than a symbolic statement. Still, the optics of a nutrition-security agency displacing a telecom operator from a high-visibility address did not escape public commentary.
Lawmakers Press for Transparency
The social-media chatter was not lost on the legislature. During the same Commission IX session, which also covered BGN’s 2027 work plan and budget, Deputy Chairperson Muhammad Yahya Zaini — a Golkar Party member — pressed the agency to put the rumor to rest on the record.
“People said [on social media] that the Telkom building on Gatot Subroto could be used for BGN’s office? I do not know if that is true or not. This is what has been circulating on social media. Please clarify,” Yahya said, directing the question squarely at Sudaryono.
Yahya went further, questioning why BGN continues to lease its present premises at Jalan Kebon Sirih No. 1 in Menteng, Central Jakarta. He asked whether vacant government offices or idle state-owned-enterprise facilities might serve the agency at lower cost, given the enormous budget the MBG program already commands. The implicit concern: if the agency is spending hundreds of trillions on meals, the optics of occupying a premium commercial tower — while paying rent on a second location during the transition — invite scrutiny over fiscal discipline.
Why the Location Question Matters
Indonesia’s post-2024 institutional restructuring has created several new or repurposed agencies whose physical footprints are still being sorted out. Danantara’s role as custodian of former SOE assets means that any transfer of a building from one state entity to another passes through its approval channels, adding a layer of bureaucratic timing to what might otherwise be a simple lease negotiation. The one-to-two-month window Sudaryono cited suggests that Danantara has already cleared the principal conditions, leaving only logistical and fit-out work before BGN staff can move in.
For Jakarta’s urban landscape, the swap is modest: a taller Telkom structure behind the complex absorbs the displaced workforce, and the nutrition agency takes the front-facing address. Yet in a political environment where social media can turn a building-assignment memo into a national debate within hours, the episode underscores how quickly infrastructure decisions become governance questions. Sudaryono’s on-record confirmation, delivered in front of lawmakers rather than through a press release, was itself a response to that dynamic — an attempt to close the information gap before speculation filled it.
The next phase will be operational: fitting out the Graha Merah Putih floors for BGN’s staff, transferring files and IT systems, and coordinating the simultaneous exit of Telkom employees into the rear structure. Until those steps are complete, both agencies will operate from overlapping addresses, a temporary arrangement that Yahya and other commissioners are likely to monitor as the 2027 budget cycle tightens.
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