City to start bus terminal building, change design<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Land acquisition for the Pulo Gebang intercity bus terminal in
\nEast Jakarta has been problematic for the city administration.
\nThus, when the stalled project is resumed next year, a new design
\nwill be used in accordance with the available land.<\/p>\n
\"The positioning of the gates could be changed if the land
\nowners insist on refusing our price offer. The new design is
\nexpected to be completed by the end of this year,\" City Secretary
\nRitola Tasmaya told The Jakarta Post and Koran Tempo on Monday at
\nthe City Hall.<\/p>\n
Out of the 10.9 hectares of land needed for the terminal, some
\n1.9 hectares has yet to be purchased due to a disagreement over
\nits price. Most of the 1.9 hectares of land belongs to state-
\nowned property company Perumnas, while locals own the rest.<\/p>\n
Ritola said the administration would \"face difficulties\" in
\nauditing the project if it paid the price land owners demanded,
\nwhich is double the land's market value.<\/p>\n
\"The auditor would assume the administration is corrupt\", he
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
Kirin, 75, a land owner, had earlier demanded Rp 600 million
\n(US$70,588) for his 300-square-meter plot of land.<\/p>\n
He claimed the administration only offered him Rp 325,000 per
\nsquare meter, or half of the current sales and property tax value
\n(NJOP) around the area -- although the administration offered
\nbetween Rp 750,000 and Rp 2 million to other land owners in the
\narea.<\/p>\n
The bus terminal was supposed to have been operational in
\n2001, to replace the overcrowded Pulogadung terminal, also in
\nEast Jakarta. The planned terminal would accommodate 1,400 buses
\nper day. It will be larger than Pulogadung terminal, which is
\nnotorious for rampant thuggery targeting passengers.<\/p>\n
The administration has often cited land acquisition as the
\nreason behind the project's snail's pace development.<\/p>\n
The City Council earlier demanded a thorough probe of the
\nproject by the Jakarta Audit Agency (Bawasda) and the Development
\nFinance Comptroller (BPKP) amid alleged irregularities and an
\nincreasing budget.<\/p>\n
To date, the project has absorbed Rp 60 billion of funds from
\nthe city budget for land acquisition and the construction of a
\ntwo-meter-high wall encircling the 10.9-hectare compound.<\/p>\n
The site of the planned terminal is a swampy area with a fish
\npond in the center. The last construction work there was done
\nfive months ago.<\/p>\n
No details were available on the funds allocated for the new
\ndesign, which is currently being prepared by a team of experts
\nfrom the University of Indonesia, nor on the construction itself.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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