Businesses Concerned About Land Ownership Legality After BPN Fire

Karawang (ANTARA) – A fire that engulfed the office of the National Land Agency (BPN) in Karawang Regency, West Java, has prompted concern among businesspeople in both industrial and non-industrial sectors.

“Businesspeople are anxious and worried about the fire at the Karawang BPN office,” David, chairman of the Karawang branch of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI), said in Karawang on Friday.

He said businesses needed certainty that their land documents and administrative processes remained secure and that the fire would not affect the legal status of their land ownership.

David urged the BPN to explain the situation directly to landowners and provide assurances, particularly about the security of legal documents and land applications still being processed.

He said such assurances from the Karawang BPN were important to businesses because land legality was fundamental to commercial activity, including investment, the construction of business facilities and the development of industrial estates.

HIPMI Karawang hopes the BPN can confirm the status of both issued land-ownership documents and administrative documents still being processed.

He added that, while recovery work following the fire was under way, stakeholders were awaiting clarity on the condition of land records and the continuation of applications in progress.

Meanwhile, the Karawang BPN office has provided no services for the past two days after almost the entire building was destroyed by fire.

The fire broke out on Wednesday night (14 October). According to records from the Karawang Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), about 90 per cent of the BPN office building was destroyed.

Around 70 per cent of the archive storage warehouse in the building was also reported to have been damaged by the fire.