Banten haj dormitory to be built in Curug

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

The Tangerang regency administration has finalized its proposal for the construction of the Banten provincial haj dormitory on an 11-hectare plot of land in Curug district, some 15 kilometers southwest of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Tangerang regent Ismet Iskandar told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the proposal would be submitted to the Ministry for Religious Affairs soon as his administration hoped to start construction in January 2004.

"The ministry has said that it will provide most of the funding for the construction, while the rest will be provided by the regency administration and Banten administration," he explained.

Ismet said that he had set up a team to estimate the funding that would be needed. The administration has provided Rp 2.5 billion (US$294,118) out of this year's regency budget as a reserve fund as the ministry is due to finance the construction.

The regency administration had studied three locations for the dormitory at Curug, Sepatan and Pasar Kemis districts.

Ismet dismissed allegations of collusion between his administration and the developers of Lippo Karawaci, who provided the land for the dormitory, saying that his decision was made based on the study.

"Curug is actually very strategic as it is only four kilometers away from the airport but there is only 5 hectares of land available and the quality of the groundwater is very bad," he said.

As for the site in Pasar Kemis, Ismet said that the district was zoned for industrial use. Besides, at 10 kilometers away from the airport, it was much too far away to be used as a dormitory for haj pilgrims.

The regent's decision has been protested by ulemas in Sepatan district.

"We are very disappointed with the regent's decision. The location in Sepatan district is very strategic because it only takes 10 minutes to reach the airport and there is no traffic congestion at all," Abdul Musya, a noted ulema, told the Post.

Ismet said that the dormitory was being built to accommodate haj pilgrims from all over Banten province.

"I hope the people in Sepatan will not resist the plan and demand that the dormitory build in their area. This is in the interests of all of us," he said.

Once the construction of the new dormitory is completed, haj pilgrims from Banten province will no longer need to stay at the Pondok Gede haj dormitory in East Jakarta prior to their departure to Mecca.