Land acquisition<\/p>\n
Technical and financial capability appear to be insufficient
\nto enable development plans to reach fruition unless the
\ngovernment succeeds in dealing with the issue of land acquisition
\nproperly. As may be obvious to many, numerous infrastructure
\nprojects in the country have run aground on this classic problem.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Toll Road Association Fatchur
\nRochman once revealed that most of the land needed for the
\nconstruction of 296 kilometers (km) of toll road in the country
\nhad not yet been acquired.<\/p>\n
PT Jasa Marga, the state-owned toll road management company,
\nseems to have the political support of the Jakarta administration
\nand the central government to turn its dream of establishing an
\nintegrated urban highway system into reality.<\/p>\n
However, political support appears insufficient to acquire the
\nland needed for toll road projects.<\/p>\n
PT Jasa Marga has had to accept that protests by landowners
\nare commonplace, despite its efforts to take the right steps and
\nfollow the correct procedures in buying the land necessary.<\/p>\n
The most recent example of a project stagnating due to land
\nacquisition problems is the 1.3-km segment of the Veteran to
\nUlujami stretch, a section of the Jakarta (southern) Outer Ring
\nRoad originally scheduled for completion in May 2003. Five plots
\nof land have still to be acquired.<\/p>\n
Other residents accepted PT Jasa Marga's offer of Rp 2.2
\nmillion per square meter (sq.m.) before the project commenced two
\nyears ago. However, the remaining landowners are now demanding Rp
\n3 million per sq.m., arguing that the price of land in the area
\nhas risen to Rp 4 million per sq.m.<\/p>\n
It is impossible for PT Jasa Marga to meet the demands of the
\nfive remaining landowners, since it would mean that the company
\nwould also have to pay more to other landowners who had already
\nreceived compensation.<\/p>\n
Many observers believe that there must be something wrong with
\nland acquisition and compensation procedures in Jakarta. The
\naccepted procedure is to call a meeting between the local
\nresidents and the government, usually represented by, at the very
\nleast, the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure, PT
\nJasa Marga and the local administration.<\/p>\n
In the case of the Veteran to Ulujami segment, negotiations
\nbegan smoothly and the landowners accepted Rp 2.2 million per
\nsq.m., based on the market price of land at the time. Problems
\nemerged after the municipality failed to issue a decree on the
\nlatest market price of the land, which had to be based on the
\ncurrent property tax (NJOP) assessment. The payment of
\ncompensation by the municipality was also too slow, which
\nprompted landowners to claim greater compensation.<\/p>\n
The chronology of events, however, indicates that the
\nresidents supported in principle the government's plan for the
\nurban highway network, and the dispute is no longer PT Jasa
\nMarga's concern. The sticking point appears to be the
\nmunicipality.<\/p>\n
In the light of all of this, there is a need for Jakarta
\nGovernor Sutiyoso to step in and sort out the mess.<\/p>\n
The dispute over the land needed for the 1.3-km stretch in
\nquestion has inflicted a total loss of at least Rp 1 billion on
\nPT Jasa Marga.<\/p>\n
As the government and PT Jasa Marga have had to look to
\ninvestors to finance toll road projects, all relevant regulations
\nand policies must be reviewed to assure investors that the toll
\nroad business still has promise.<\/p>\n
The two greatest problems that investors face are land
\nacquisition and determination of the toll rate once the turnpike
\nbecomes operational.<\/p>\n
It is time for the government to take the necessary steps to
\nfacilitate the land acquisition process. Payment of compensation
\nshould also be monitored to ensure that the process is completed
\non schedule and that no fraud occurs.<\/p>\n
Disputes that emerge after a deal on the land price has been
\nreached should be resolved in court while the construction
\nproject continues.<\/p>\n
The government should also determine a schedule of interim
\ntoll fees as early as possible in the process to enable investors
\nto calculate at an early stage whether the business is feasible
\nor not. Under such circumstances the government's program to
\ndevelop an integrated toll road network could be implemented
\nsmoothly and investors assured that their long-term investment
\nwould be genuinely safe and profitable.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/land-acquisition-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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