Quoting: KuKuKaChu Quoting: JG 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. how dare they not sell their land! Quoting: JG I Made Manda, BTDC’s president director, earlier said Emaar would not break ground on the project until all 1,200 hectares were cleared for use. meaning, the project aint gonna happen. There's always the old Tommy Suharto era trick.

A government official said late on Thursday that the planned $600 million tourism megaproject on Lombok Island may finally go forward, after a high-level meeting in the United Arab Emirates with the chairman of Dubai-based Emaar Properties. “The meeting was very positive,” said Hilmi Gasim, an assistant to Alwi Shihab, the president’s special envoy to the Middle East.

Quoting: JG 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. how dare they not sell their land! Quoting: JG I Made Manda, BTDC’s president director, earlier said Emaar would not break ground on the project until all 1,200 hectares were cleared for use. meaning, the project aint gonna happen.

Despite the positive note sounded by government officials on Thursday that Emaar Properties’ Lombok project was still on track, two serious stumbling blocks remain: land acquisition and the ownership of the joint venture company.