Tanah Abang fire victims eager for new stalls, business as usual<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Rows of small cubicles fill eight of the upper levels of the
\nparking lot in Block F of Tanah Abang market, Central Jakarta,
\nwhere construction workers are busy installing power and painting
\nshocking pink the iron sheets that makes up the walls of the
\ncubicles.<\/p>\n
The traders have eagerly looked forward to the establishment
\nof the 2,420 temporary kiosks ever since mid-February when a fire
\ngutted the market, the biggest textile market in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
The traders, mostly of small and medium scale, said they had
\nlost their customers because they identified them only by the
\nname of their kiosks.<\/p>\n
\"We heard that city market operator PD Pasar Jaya will hold a
\ndraw on April 8 to determine who gets which kiosk,\" Toni, one of
\nthe traders whose kiosks was burned in the fire, told The Jakarta
\nPost on Saturday.<\/p>\n
A PD Pasar Jaya staffer for Tanah Abang market, Setiawan, told
\nthe Post that a date for the draw had yet to be fixed draw but
\n\"it will be later this month\".<\/p>\n
Syafrizal, one trader who after the fire started selling his
\nmerchandise from a vehicle parked in the market, said he had lost
\ncustomers and considered himself lucky if he could sell just one
\nfourth of the merchandise he used to sell before the fire.<\/p>\n
\"Just Rp 50,000 (US$5.60) profit in one day is rare.
\nFortunately, business here is all run by credit, which means I
\ndon't have to pay off all my debts with the textile factories or
\ndistributors in a short time,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
Fire gutted the market, which smoldered for one week, badly
\ndamaging three of the six blocks.<\/p>\n
The construction of the temporary kiosks started on March 14
\nand is expected to be completed on April 20. The rebuilding of
\nthe actual market is expected to take a long time.<\/p>\n
The temporary kiosks are being erected on the levels 4, 4A, 5,
\n5A, 6, 6A, 7, and 7A.<\/p>\n
Parking space is available near the reservoir on Jl. Kebon
\nMelati, around 500 meters from the market. The city
\nadministration has promised to provide shuttle buses to carry
\ncustomers and traders from the parking area to the market.<\/p>\n
The traders have repeatedly demanded that the city
\nadministration immediately renovate the burned building or
\nprovide them with strategic places from where to do business.<\/p>\n
Since most of the traders' leases expire next year, they are
\nworried about renewing the leases and paying rent for another 20
\nyears in the renovated building, where rent could reach as high
\nas Rp 170 million per square meter.<\/p>\n
Some traders whose leases are still valid have sublet their
\nkiosks to raise capital.<\/p>\n
It was the traders' idea to temporarily run their businesses
\nin the parking lot, but many of them are disappointed at the
\ncondition of the parking area and the size of the kiosks as well.<\/p>\n
\"They're too small and it will be impossible for us to display
\nour merchandise in them. Moreover, it is too humid there and even
\ninstalling air-conditioning won't help,\" Syafrizal said.<\/p>\n
Each kiosk will measure one meter by two meters, with one
\nmeter between each row of kiosks. However, in the places where
\nthere are building foundations, the kiosks will be twice as wide.<\/p>\n
\"In the draw, luck will be with those who get a two square
\nmeter kiosk,\" market operator staff Setiawan said Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tanah-abang-fire-victims-eager-for-new-stalls-business-as-usual-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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