City threatens to force builders into obligation
City threatens to force builders into obligation
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will continue pressuring
the private developers reluctant to build low-cost apartments in
return for the issuance of land appropriation permits, Governor
Surjadi Soedirdja said.
The governor emphasized that the city administration will not
hesitate to take stern measures against any developers who are
not willing to abide by the existing regulations.
Under Gubernatorial Decree No.540/1990, all developers of
high-value buildings are obliged to build low-cost apartments on
20 percent of the area of their project sites.
Only four of the 66 developers building large-scale business
buildings in the city have met their obligation to build low-cost
housing.
The governor said on Thursday that officials have registered
the names of the disobedient developers. "I always warn my
subordinates to be careful in issuing permits and to reject any
proposal from uncooperative developers," he said.
The governor said the problem is exacerbated by the fact that
most of the developers signed agreements for the construction of
the cheap apartments long before he took office. "Many of them
are no longer in operation," Surjadi told reporters at City Hall.
He said that the city administration has asked the Jakarta
branch of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI) for help
in this matter.
Private sector developers have been asked to construct low-
cost apartments because the city administration can build only
3,150 units per year, or 30 percent of the total demand of about
10,500 units per annum.
Meanwhile, assistant to the city secretary Prawoto
Danoemihardjo said that the city administration is still
reviewing a proposal from REI that a lump sum be paid in lieu of
the construction of apartments.
"We are still reviewing whether or not the proposal will
benefit the city administration and solve the housing problem,"
Prawoto told reporters yesterday.
He explained that the city administration fears that the funds
collected from developers might not be enough to build low-cost
apartments because of the escalating prices of building
materials.
Prawoto also said developers receiving land appropriation
permits for their projects are now required to sign agreements
with the city administration stipulating the scheduling for the
construction of apartments.
"The schedule includes when and where the developers will
build the facilities," he said. (yns)