Construction of Plaza Kelapa Gading halted

JAKARTA (JP): The construction project of Plaza Kelapa Gading in Kelapa Gading Barat subdistrict of north Jakarta has temporarily been halted until the city administration issues a building permit (IMB), an official said on Monday.

"The construction work has been stopped until the developer gets the building permit," Deputy Governor for Development Affairs Budihardjo Soekmadi told a media conference.

He confirmed that the 12.5-hectare piece of land is owned by the Indonesian Navy. The Navy is collaborating with property developer PT Wisma Benhill which will construct the plaza under a 25-year Building Operate Transfer (BOT) agreement.

Budihardjo said the city administration issued the Permit on Land Use (SIPPT) in October of last year and that it has taken the administration about 52 days to process the block plan.

The block plan was only completed last Tuesday because the administration had to verify the proposed construction plan and compare the plan with the real condition of the site, he said.

Budihardjo said PT Wisma Benhill had asked the mayor of north Jakarta to fill in the lower part of the land and to erect construction poles at certain spots.

The mayor has given his approval to the developer's demand as long as it obtains a valid building permit, he added.

He said that the local authority, however, had later found out that the developer had built a 'temporary' project office at the site without asking for permission.

"Now, the office has been demolished and it can only be rebuilt after the contractor acquires the building permit," he said.

The planned construction was to build the so-called Plaza Kelapa Gading complex which will consist of shop-houses, a shopping mall and a sports center. The project will cost some Rp 90 billion (US$9.5 million).

When asked whether the Navy has fulfilled its obligation to reimburse a green area it had absorbed into the plaza compound, Budihardjo said the Navy Central Cooperative (Inkopal), as the land owner, has already handed over a seven-hectare basin to the city public works agency as compensation.

Meanwhile, head of the city planning agency Akhmaddin Ahmad said on Monday that his office had warned the developer to provide some 20 percent of the building space for street vendors. (04)