Govt decision to revoke decrees on projects hailed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso hailed on Thursday the central
\ngovernment's decision to revoke three presidential decrees signed
\nby former president Soeharto on the reclamation of North Jakarta
\nBay and Kapuk Naga coast and the development of Jonggol township.<\/p>\n
\"There's nothing bad. For us, it's (the decision) good because
\nthe decision will also mean that the authorization (on the North
\nJakarta Bay project) is now in the hands of the governor,\"
\nSutiyoso told reporters.<\/p>\n
Under Soeharto's decree, the three projects were under the
\ncentral government's auspices.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, President B.J. Habibie revoked the decrees on
\nthe three massive projects and entrusted the development of North
\nJakarta Bay to the Jakarta administration and the Kapuk Naga and
\nJonggol projects to the West Java administration.<\/p>\n
When Soeharto signed Presidential Decree No 52\/1995 on the
\nreclamation of North Jakarta Bay, the capital was led by Surjadi
\nSoedirdja. At the time, Sutiyoso was the Jakarta Military
\nCommand's chief of staff.<\/p>\n
The revocation of the North Jakarta Bay decree -- aimed to
\ntransform the northern coastal area into a future waterfront city
\n-- does not mean that the financially troubled city
\nadministration is willing to immediately continue the megaproject
\nwhich has been halted by its developers due to the prolonged
\nmonetary crisis.<\/p>\n
According to Sutiyoso, the reclamation of 2,700 hectares of
\ninundated land and revitalizing 13,709 hectares of land along the
\nnorth coast of the capital would require a large amount of money.<\/p>\n
\"We need to take a deep breath first as it's a very costly and
\ntime-consuming project,\" the governor said.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, in the first year of his five-year governorship,
\npromised to restart the project again should the country's
\neconomy start to show signs of recovery.<\/p>\n
He vowed not to change the project's existing plans and to
\ngive greater chances to companies that had been involved in the
\nwork to take part in the bidding for the megaproject's contracts.<\/p>\n
\"We'll carry out a tender again. I promise that the project
\nwill be awarded through an open bid,\" Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
Under Surjadi's tenure, the city administration signed seven
\nMemorandums of Understanding regarding the reclamation project
\nbetween 1995 and 1997.<\/p>\n
Companies that took part in the project under Soeharto's
\ndecree were PT Manggala Krida Yudha, a private firm partly owned
\nby Soeharto's youngest daughter Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih, PT
\nKapuk Naga Indah, a subsidiary of the widely diversified Salim
\nGroup controlled by one of Soeharto's closest cronies, PT
\nPembangunan Jaya Ancol, a joint venture between the city
\nadministration and property tycoon Ciputra, and PT Jaladri
\nKartika Eka Paksi, a company associated with the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso hoped that the revocation of Soeharto's decrees would
\nspeed up the city administration's efforts to guarantee greater
\nautonomy within its jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
\"So far, one of the major problems that has caused the
\nstagnation of the North Jakarta Bay project was the different
\ninterests between the administration and the central government,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
A councilor reminded the city administration on Thursday that
\nit should re-examine the project's environmental impact analysis
\nreport because the previous one was undertaken by the
\nparticipating companies themselves.<\/p>\n
\"The study should be done again and this time by the city
\nagency in order to obtain a more objective result,\" the head of
\nthe city council's Commission D for development affairs Ali
\nWongso Sinaga said.<\/p>\n
\"Such an objective analysis is very important to ensure the
\nreclamation project won't destroy the surrounding areas as
\nhappened in the Thousand Islands,\" he said. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-decision-to-revoke-decrees-on-projects-hailed-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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