Bappenas denies plan to move administration

Bappenas denies plan to move administration

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the National Development Planning
Board (Bappenas) Ginandjar Kartasasmita denied yesterday there
were plans to relocate the center of administration to Jonggol,
Bogor, West Java.

The Board had not yet thought about the relocation of the
administration from Jakarta to the Jonggol regency, he said.

"The board and consortium PT Bukit Jonggol Asri has discussed
developing a self-sufficient city in Jonggol," Ginandjar said
after addressing a cultural meeting at the Taman Ismail Marzuki
Art Center in Central Jakarta.

The consortium plans to develop a new city on 30,000 hectares
covering 24 villages in Jonggol. There are rumors the consortium
plans to relocate the center of administration from Jakarta.

Jonggol's self-sufficient city would be the biggest private
project in Jakarta and its surrounding areas of Bogor, Tangerang
and Bekasi.

According to the Kontan tabloid, the consortium's plan
allocates land for presidential and several ministerial offices.

Ginandjar said the plan for a self-sufficient city was good
because it would reduce Jakarta's burden.

"However, the Board has not yet thought about or planned to
convert Jonggol into a new capital of Indonesia," he said.

"The plan is to develop Jonggol into a self-sufficient city
like Cikarang and Serpong," said Ginandjar, who is chairman of
the national spatial planning coordinating agency.

Ginandjar said the consortium must respect the local
administration's rules about land appropriation in Jonggol.

"The sale of land from the owners to the consortium must be
based on mutual agreement, without pressure from any party," he
said.

Forestry

Meanwhile, Achmed B. Suhanda, the Ministry of Forestry's
Director for Forest Planning said the consortium had proposed
3,100 hectares of land to replace the forest it will take over
from the government.

Suhanda said the consortium claims the proposed sites, in the
Cianjur, Ciamis and Sumedang regencies, West Java, can be
converted into forest.

Government regulations state private companies that want to
take over state forests must replace forests elsewhere in the
province.

In this case, Bukit Jonggol Asri should be able to provide
6,100 hectares of forests to replace the Jonggol area it plans to
acquire.

Suhanda said because people already lived in the Jonggol
forest area, the area provided by the consortium would be exactly
the same as the one it got from the government.

"If the forests were unoccupied, for instance, the ratio would
be different; the private company would have to look for a larger
area in exchange for what they get from us," he said.

The government stipulates areas proposed for replacement
should be non-forested areas suitable for conversion into forests
and should border with existing forests.

"The replacement can either be forests, or they can be barren
but productive land. In the latter case, the private company has
the responsibility to reforest the area," he said.

Suhanda said government officials were double-checking and
measuring the 3,100-hectare forest proposed by Bukit Jonggol
Asri.

"The consortium has obtained our principle permit for this
3,100 hectares. But only after the measurements are complete, can
we give them our final approval," he said.

He said the consortium had proposed another 3,000-hectare area
near Bogor for its project. This proposal has not yet got a
principle permit. (sur/pwn)