No funds available for planned bus terminal project<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
East Jakarta Mayor Koesnan Abdul Halim said on Monday his
\nadministration could not proceed with the land acquisition
\nprocess for the Pulo Gebang intercity bus terminal because of a
\nlack of funds.<\/p>\n
\"There are no funds allocated (for the land acquisition) this
\nyear. That is the reason we are finding it difficult to negotiate
\nwith land owners, because we do not have the money in our
\npockets,\" he said at City Hall.<\/p>\n
However, he said his administration had already successfully
\ncleared about nine hectares of land for the terminal, leaving
\nonly 1.8 hectares remaining to be cleared for the terminal's
\ngates.<\/p>\n
The planned Rp 200-billion (US$22.5 million) bus terminal will
\noccupy a total of 10.8 hectares.<\/p>\n
Koesnan said the land acquisition process had come to a halt
\nbecause the administration could not reach an agreement with land
\nowners on compensation.<\/p>\n
The owners of the remaining 1.8 hectares of land have demanded
\ncompensation double the taxable value of their property, which
\nranges between Rp 500,000 and Rp 600,000 per square meter in the
\narea.<\/p>\n
\"If they insist that the administration meets their price, we
\nwill be unable to do it. I will just report to City Secretary
\n(Ritola Tasmaya) to forget about the land and we will change the
\ndesign of the entrance and exit gates of the terminal,\" the mayor
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Ritola said earlier the administration was considering a
\nredesign of the terminal because of difficulties in the land
\nacquisition process.<\/p>\n
He said the administration would face problems when the
\nproject was audited if it compensated owners at double the market
\nvalue of their land, because the auditors would assume corruption
\nwas at play.<\/p>\n
Construction of the bus terminal, which originally was to open
\nin 2001, is far behind schedule. This has caused some members of
\nCity Council Commission D for development affairs to suspect
\nirregularities, because there has been so little progress despite
\nRp 60 billion already being poured into the project.<\/p>\n
The new terminal is meant to replace the overcrowded 3.3-
\nhectare Pulogadung bus terminal. The two-story terminal will be
\nable to serve about 1,400 buses per day and will have a direct
\nconnection to the toll road.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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