$500m business center still requires permit

$500m business center still requires permit

JAKARTA (JP): The proposal for the construction of a business
center on the existing site of the city police headquarters in
South Jakarta has not as yet been submitted to City Hall.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja told reporters yesterday that the
administration, therefore, has not changed the city planner's
site plan.

According to city planning, only government offices are
allowed to stand on the 14.5 hectare plot, where the city police
headquarters now stands.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja told reporters yesterday that
private developer PT Mandala Pratama Permai has not yet filed a
complete, concrete proposal to his office.

PT Mandala Pratama Permai and the National Police have signed
a deal over the city police headquarters' plot. The deal says the
company is granted the right to develop 6.5 hectares of the 14.5-
hectare plot into a commercial center.

The company, controlled by Hutomo Mandala Putra, son of
President Soeharto, will build a business center, hotel,
apartments, shopping centers and other facilities.

In return, the city police will get a new 24-story office
building complete with up-to-date equipment on the remaining
land. The company will also provide the city police with 50
hectares of land in Serpong in Tangerang for a housing complex
for police families.

The whole project, including land compensation for the police,
will cost Mandala Pratama Permai Rp 1.1 trillion (US$500
million).

Obligation

Surjadi said the developer is obliged to officially ask city
administration to change the city planner's site plan before
starting the project.

The city administration also needs a copy of the barter
agreement from the Ministry of Finance.

City councilors have commented on the barter deal. They said
the changing of the site plan should get approval from the city
council.

The vice speaker of the council, Ismunandar, said that the
city administration has never discussed the police headquarters
location with the councilors. "We have no idea about the possible
change in the site plan," he said.

Chairman of the Armed Forces faction, Nawadji, said that
everybody should abide by the rule in such a case. He said the
city administration must take action as soon as possible.

"The city administration should be responsive in making the
developer follow the standard procedure," Nawadji said.

A reliable sources told The Jakarta Post early this week that
police will start moving out of the headquarters next month to
clear the way for the project.

The sources said the police will temporarily use the veteran's
building, the Granadha building, located across from the
headquarters.

The new police office is scheduled for completion next year.

The 33-year-old Jakarta Police headquarters is located in a
strategic location, just south of the Semanggi cloverleaf
intersection, facing onto both Jl. Jenderal Sudirman and Jl.
Gatot Subroto.

Currently, prices of land in the area, known as the Golden
Triangle, could reach around Rp 4 million (US$1,758) per square
meter.(yns)