'Developer must be held to promise'

'Developer must be held to promise'

JAKARTA (JP): The city council urged the city administration
yesterday to closely monitor the use of the third floor of a 28-
story shopping center in Mangga Dua, West Jakarta, which has been
set aside by the building's owner for small-scale traders.

Abdulgani H. Abdullah, the chairman of the council's
Commission B, which is responsible for financial affairs, told
reporters at his office that the small traders, who are currently
operating in the streets adjacent to the shopping complex, should
be given first priority when it comes to allocating floor space
in the building.

"The city administration must monitor any possibility of the
floor space being sold ... (and must prevent) any trade of floor
space permits," he said.

"All forms of manipulation must be prevented, if the city
administration does not want to fail in its program to improve
small-scale traders' welfare," he added.

Abdulgani said that PT Agung Sedayu Propertindo, the owner of
the building, promised recently to hand over the 1,433 square
meters constituting the third floor of the building for use by
small-scale traders.

He said tha the provision of the space is in line with the
gubernatorial decree No. 240/1983, which stipulates that
developers should reserve 20 percent of floor space developed for
commercial purposes for use by street vendors.

The shopping center project is expected to be completed by
early next year.

Abdulgani said that the developer has also paid Rp 832 million
(US$378,181) to the city administration in lieu of providing the
space for small traders in other sections of the complex.

Hasan Dasy, another member of Commission B, said that, in
theory, developers must hand over the floor space and that cash
payments are not a permissible alternative. However, because of
technical problems, the city administration is forced to receive
compensation in cash, he said.

He said that both the council and the city administration
preferred floor space to cash, because the former is ready for
use.

"But the most important thing is that the money is used for
the improvement of the welfare of small-scale traders," he added.
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