Developer told to widen roads to Bintaro Jaya
JAKARTA (JP): City councilors said yesterday the developer of Bintaro Jaya real estate is still obliged to widen the roads leading to the complex despite its plan to build the toll road linking Bumi Serpong Damai to Bintaro and the ringroad.
The widening of the roads and the planned construction of the toll road are mainly intended to prevent the real estate's residents from being caught in traffic congestion around the housing complex.
"PT Jaya Real Property, the developer, is obliged to widen the roads since the traffic snarls are caused by the real estate's residents' daily commute. The developer can be freed from that obligation only if the residents can use the "toll" road free of charge, which is impossible," Ali Wongso Sinaga, a member of the city council's commission D on development affairs, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
The commission held a hearing with the management of the firm on the issue.
Ali said traffic congestion is a mayor hassle faced by the residents every day since the two roads leading to the outside of the real estate, Jl. Bintaro Raya and Jl. Cempaka, are already clogged by commuter vehicles.
Jl. Bintaro Jaya is only about nine-meter wide while Jl. Cempaka is six meters.
During peak hours, the commuter traffic creates long traffic jams up to other thoroughfares linking to both roads, including Jl. Veteran, Ciputat.
The city councilors have long demanded that the developer widen the two roads to solve the congestion, saying it is part of the public facilities they are obliged to build.
The firm argues the road widening is not part of their obligation, saying it is the job of the municipality.
This view is opposed by the city councilors, saying the city administration will not develop the roads around the area since it is concentrating its development efforts on the southern and eastern parts of the city.
The firm then launched a plan to build the toll road linking the Bumi Serpong Damai real estate to Bintaro Jaya and southern ring road, which is due to be completed in 1997, so that the residents can avoid the traffic jams.
Bumi Serpong Damai is also developed by PT Jaya Real Property (JRP)
However, councilors feel that this move was just a ploy on the part of the company to avoid their responsibility to widen the roads.
Rp 500,000
The widening of the two roads would cost the firm a lot of money. The land they should appropriate for that purpose alone is priced at around Rp 500,000 (US$232.8) per square meter.
"The firm should be held responsible for the economic cost currently burdened by the residents due to the traffic congestion," said Muhammad Rodja, another member of the commission.
Daryanto, a member of the firm's board of directors, argued during the hearing that the widening of the roads was not the responsibility of PT JRP alone. "A handful of other real estate firms around the area should also share the responsibility."
Ali said PT JRP should share most of the responsibility since it is the biggest developer.
"We shall ask the administration to instruct the firm to make an integrated amdal (environmental impact analysis), so that it is clear to them that the traffic congestion around the area has something to do with the real estate's existence. As such they are responsible to solve it," said Ali.
According to the company's profile, PT JRP holds the concession in building Bintaro Jaya real estate on a 1,721 hectare plot. The complex, which is still being built, is projected to house around 125,000 families.
The residents are mainly middle to upper class people who work in Jakarta.
Only fifty hectares of the land is located in Jakarta region, with the rest falling within the Tangerang regency.
The city administration, however, seems to be more concerned about the real estate than Tangerang. This is because the city receives less revenue from the land than it does from Tangerang.(jsk)