Despite the positive note sounded by government officials on Thursday that Emaar Properties\u2019 Lombok project was still on track, two serious stumbling blocks remain: land acquisition and the ownership of the joint venture company.<\/p>\n
In terms of land acquisition, of the roughly 1,200 hectares needed for the development, about 1,000 hectares granted to the project by the West Nusa Tenggara government still need to be certified by the National Land Agency (BPN) to ensure that the government\u2019s title is legal. The remaining land is still occupied by locals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe land agency is taking its time in a prudent manner because there are still many local people there,\u201d Gusmin Tuarita, the West Nusa Tenggara provincial chief of BPN told the Jakarta Globe. \u201cWe cannot work as fast as everybody might want.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is also a danger that the land already granted by the local government may have to be surveyed again if locals make claims to it during negotiations over the remaining 200 hectares. This would further prevent BPN from granting the necessary development rights to the Bali Tourism Development Corporation, Emaar\u2019s partner.<\/p>\n
Land speculation was also a problem, with Gusmin noting that 135 hectares allotted for the site were currently held by locals who refused to sell their land.<\/p>\n
I Made Manda, BTDC\u2019s president director, earlier said Emaar would not break ground on the project until all 1,200 hectares were cleared for use.<\/p>\n
The second problem involves the allocation of shares of joint venture PT Emaar Lombok between BTDC and Emaar. At first, both parties agreed to give Emaar an 85 percent stake, with BTDC holding the remainder.<\/p>\n
But according to Alwi Shihab, the presidential envoy to the Middle East, Emaar wanted to put up only 70 percent of the capital while maintaining an 85 percent stake in the venture.<\/p>\n
Alwi would not explain this arrangement further, and Emaar officials were not available to comment on it.<\/p>\n
A source close to the deal said that Emaar was skittish about writing out a check for Rp 1.7 trillion ($165 million) to meet the minimum capital requirement for the project under Indonesian law.<\/p>\n
Emaar shares have crashed from 11.20 United Arab Emirates dirhams ($3.05) last year to 3.60 dirhams on Thursday.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lombok-resort-still-facing-land-and-share-disputes-1245466170", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }