City seeks input on spatial master plan

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration said on Monday that it would probably revise Jakarta's 2000-2010 spatial master plan (RTRW) in order to meet the rising need for space amid rapid development and a fast-growing population in the capital.

"It is almost certain that we have to revise the spatial master plan. The revision is unavoidable as the demand for space is higher than expected and we need to accommodate accelerated development in the capital and a quickly growing population," Governor Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall after a meeting with his subordinates.

Sutiyoso cited the need for more space for large, infrastructure development projects now underway, including the monorail, a subway system, the busway system, the East Flood Canal and the several toll road projects.

"We need to include those projects in the revised spatial master plan," he said.

In addition to the infrastructure projects across the city, Jakarta also faces serious population problems, owing to an influx of between 200,000 and 250,000 unskilled people from rural parts of the nation who relocate here each year.

Despite its shortcomings as a metropolitan city, Jakarta remains a magnet for people from less developed areas in the country, where an estimated 70 percent of the country's wealth is circulated.

The National Statistics Agency (BPS) estimates that number of registered Jakarta residents is approximately 8.7 million, but they also estimate that Jakarta's population reaches 12 million each work day as commuters from surrounding towns make their way into the city.

The city administration has also assigned a team manned by scholars, city officials, non-governmental organizations, businesspeople and community leaders to help evaluate the first year of the implementation of the 2000-2010 spatial master plan.

"Hopefully, we can finalize the evaluation by the end of this year," said team leader Andi Oetomo, who is also an urban planning expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

The team will be in charge of collecting and discussing a variety of input and responses from the public over the first five years of the implementation of the master plan.

Jakarta residents can give advice and comments on the 2000- 2010 spatial master plan via e-mail: rtrw2010@jakarta.go.id or by accessing the official website: http://www.jakarta.go.id/rtrw2010.

Residents can also give suggestions by contacting the call center (021) 382 2762 or mailing to the City Planning Agency on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan No. 8-9, Central Jakarta.

Although the revisions will address the need for space for development projects and the population, the City Park Agency head Sarwo Handhayani said that the administration would stick to the original target to preserve 13.9 percent of the city's total area of 661.62 square kilometers for open and green spaces.

"We will be more aggressive, especially in land acquisition for open, green spaces in the next five years," Sarwo said.

Currently, Jakarta has an estimated 9 percent of its total area as open, green space.