Council questions hypermarkets

Council questions hypermarkets

JAKARTA: In response to a protest by the Association of
Indonesian Traditional Market Traders over the presence of
hypermarkets in the capital, the City Council plans to meet with
city administrators.

"We want them to explain why hypermarkets are allowed to
locate next to traditional markets. We want the regulation on
hypermarkets to be reviewed, so their presence will not kill off
market vendors," Nurmansjah Lubis, deputy chairman of Commission
B for development issues, said on Thursday.

City Bylaw No. 2/2002 on markets says that hypermarkets must
be located at least 2.5 kilometers from the nearest traditional
market.

"But as we can see, many hypermarkets are just across the
street from traditional markets," he said. -- JP