Cipadu, an alternative textile market

Cipadu, an alternative textile market

Rizky KD Ntoma, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Cipadu textile market, located near Bintaro, Tangerang, has
enjoyed a significant increase in the number of visitors since
the massive fire in February that destroyed the Tanah Abang
textile market, Central Jakarta.

Like Tanah Abang, the Cipadu market on Jl. Wahid Hasyim offers
various textile products such as clothes, bed covers and curtains
for cheap.

Avi, a visitor, said that besides the low prices, Cipadu was
more convenient than Tanah Abang.

"Cipadu is far closer -- we had to go through traffic jams to
reach Tanah Abang," said Avi, a resident of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs housing complex in Cipulir, South Jakarta.

Suti, who resides in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, said that
Cipadu also offered quality textiles.

"My husband heard about the market from his friends. They told
him that we could get anything at a low price," Suti said while
bargaining for a dress at one kiosk.

However, some visitors complain about the market, which is not
managed well.

"I think it would be better if they arranged the kiosks
according to the kinds of the goods that they sell. Because they
are not arranged in an orderly fashion, I have to go all around
the market first just to find what I'm looking for," said Avi.

She said there was something missing in Cipadu -- there were
no banks nor automated teller machines (ATMs).

"A lot of visitors complain that there are no banks nor ATMs
here, so they have to bring cash with them. I just hope that some
banks will open branches and put ATMs here soon," she said.

Of the hundreds of kiosks in Cipadu, some 200 belong to a
Betawi (native Jakartan ethnic group) businessman, Muhamad Ali,
who has built kiosks in three separate blocks for the past three
years.

One of the kiosks' tenants, Ade, said that the annual rental
fee for a kiosk in Cipadu was Rp 15 million, far cheaper than the
Rp 35 million rental fee for a Tanah Abang kiosk.

"I'm sure that in the future, my business will improve. There
is a bright prospect here," she said.

Novembra, who used to sell curtains at Tanah Abang, has
transferred her business to Cipadu after the fire.

"I'm not the only one to have moved here. There are also
others (from Tanah Abang)," he said.

When asked about business prospects, Novembra said that he was
optimistic.

"This is a very interesting new market with good potential ...
better than Tanah Abang. The rent is also cheaper. Besides local
residents, I already have customers who come from Kalimantan,
Sumatra and even Malaysia," he said.