4,000 vendors to be removed

4,000 vendors to be removed

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will relocate approximately 4,000 sidewalk vendors to a number of markets, an official said yesterday.

Aris Djazuli, head of the Informal Sector Development Agency, told Antara that the vendors have to be relocated because their operation on green belts, park areas, pavements and empty plots of land owned by the city administration, and around traffic lights and bridges is considered to affect the beauty of the city.

He said that the relocation project, which will be financed with funds from the city budget, is expected to start as soon as possible and be completed by the end of this year.

The vendors to be relocated will include 250 in Manggarai, 250 in Galur, 700 in Palmerah, 500 in Permai and 600 in Cakung, he said.

"They will be relocated into markets already built by the city administration, including one on Jl. Nusa Kramat Jati, which has the capacity of accommodating 461 traders," he said.

The vendors will be allowed to operate in the markets under a rental system, Aris said.

He said that according to the data of his agency, there are over 100,000 street vendors in operation throughout the city with contributions through fee collections amounting to about Rp 1.4 billion (US$636,360) annually. (hhr)