City needs bigger share in projects

City needs bigger share in projects

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is trying to improve its
bargaining power in joint projects with private sector, the
director of a city-owned developer says.

"We want to have a bigger share...to be able to determine
policies," Kemal Basha, director of PD Sarana Jaya, said
Saturday.

Kemal's comments came in response to city councilors'
questions over projects between the municipality and private
investors.

Councilors cited PT Jaya Ancol and PT Pembangunan Jaya in
which most policies were determined by the private firms, even
though the city owns 80 percent of Jaya Ancol and 40 percent of
Pembangunan Jaya.

Djafar Badjeber of the United Development Party (PPP) faction
said the city was largely uninformed about progress in the Ancol
Dreamland Park.

Kemal said the municipality would set more specific
arrangements for private investors interested in the project.

"The arrangements would be in the project's development,
operation and management. The efforts are to make the private
investors comply with our interests," Kemal said.

Kemal said a new development project, which would be jointly
developed with the private sector in Pademangan, North Jakarta,
would entail greater authority of city reflected by its bigger
share.

He said the arrangement of the 100-hectare project would be
determined soon. "The project would take five years to complete,"
he said.

Prawoto S. Danoemihardjo, assistant to the secretary of
development affairs, said earlier the Kemayoran New Township
Authority, which is under the State Secretariat, was among the
developers invited to take part in the project.

Sarana Jaya would work with developers in the land
appropriation and form a joint venture to develop the project.

Sarana Jaya said land appropriation alone was estimated to
cost about Rp 1.25 trillion (US$477.8 million).

Currently, most buildings in the state lands are semi-
permanent and prone to flooding and sea water intrusion.

The planned Pademangan complex would integrate middle and
working class accommodation as a residential and business center.

The housing complex in Pademangan in the eastern and western
parts of the slum area would accommodate 18,515 families on more
than 1.8 million square meters.

A shopping center would be designed to cover 1,059,058 square
meters, while office buildings and hotels are planned on 5.5
million square meters.

Sarana Jaya is considered to have successfully developed
several housing estates in the city by implementing the "estate
management" concept, which means involving private developers
with different areas of expertise.

In the long term, the project is expected to complement the
Waterfront City Project in North Jakarta. (ste)