Planned bus terminal becomes huge fish pond<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It is hard to believe that the swampy area with a huge fish pond
\nright in the center is actually supposed to be the Rp 60 billion
\n(US$7 million) Pulo Gebang intercity bus terminal in East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
It was supposed to become operational in 2001, but
\nconstruction has been slower than molasses.<\/p>\n
The only sign of that construction work is some upturned soil
\non one side of the pond and the 2-meter high wall encircling the
\n10.9-hectare compound, around a kilometer from the East Jakarta
\nmunicipality office.<\/p>\n
"The last construction work was done five months ago," Kirin,
\n75, a resident whose home is just a few meters away from the
\ncompound, pointing to a new section of the wall.<\/p>\n
"But nothing has happened since," said the old man, who was
\ntaking his ducks to the pond, which is also used by Saturday
\nmorning fishing enthusiasts.<\/p>\n
The field situation is much worse than what had been reported
\nto the City Council's commission D that oversees development
\naffairs. The commission was criticizing the construction of the
\nbus terminal with councillors so astutely deducing that it was
\ngoing at a "snail's pace".<\/p>\n
"The city administration must be more serious in the planning
\nas well in the implementation of the environmental impact
\nanalysis study before embarking on a project and committing
\nbudgetary funds, or it is just a waste of the public's money,"
\nsaid the commission's head Koeswadi Soesilohardjo.<\/p>\n
The commission released a statement on Thursday after
\nassessing the city's 2003 budget on development affairs.<\/p>\n
The terminal had been intended to replace the crowded
\nPulogadung bus terminal, also in East Jakarta, which could no
\nlonger accommodate the increasing number of buses.<\/p>\n
Pulogadung terminal is also notorious for rampant thuggery
\ntargeting would-be bus passengers.<\/p>\n
The commission questioned the use of Rp 60 billion of city
\nfund and, therefore, demanded a thorough probe of the spending in
\nthe project by the Jakarta Audit Agency (Bawasda) and the
\nDevelopment Finance Comptroller (BPKP).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jakarta Transportation Agency head Rustam Effendy
\nseemed reluctant to comment on the stalled project.<\/p>\n
After being pressed further, he admitted that his office was
\nstill facing problems with land acquisition.<\/p>\n
Kirin, who also happens to be an owner of 300-square meters of
\nthat land, confirmed that, while saying that he and his fellow
\nland owners had refused to sell to the city at the prices offered
\nby the administration.<\/p>\n
"They're offering me a meager Rp 325,000 per square meter,
\nonly a half of the current sales and property tax value (NJOP)
\naround the area which averages around Rp 750,000," he lamented,
\nwhile adding that he would only sell the land for Rp 2 million
\nper square meter.<\/p>\n
The real market value is usually higher than the NJOP.<\/p>\n
The East Jakarta municipality has already received Rp 13.4
\nbillion from the city budget for land compensation alone.<\/p>\n
It said earlier that it would not find it difficult to acquire
\nthe remaining 1.9 hectares of land for the construction project
\nsince most of the land was owned by state-owned property company
\nPerumnas.<\/p>\n
The planned terminal was expected to accommodate 1,400 buses
\nper day. It will be far larger than the existing 3.3-hectare
\nPulogadung terminal.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/planned-bus-terminal-becomes-huge-fish-pond-1447893297",
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