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.