Construction of Plaza Kelapa Gading halted

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)