Ex-brothel project to start soon

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta administration's plan to transform the former Kramat Tunggak brothel complex into an Islamic center will start soon with the laying of the foundation stone on Aug. 1, said a city councillor.

Councillor Ali Imran Hussein of the United Development Party said on Thursday that the first foundation stone would be laid on Aug. 1 to mark the start of the center's development on the 11- hectare plot occupied by the former brothel complex in North Jakarta.

"But I don't know when the project will be completed. I think it could take years," Ali, who is a member of the council's Commission D for development affairs, told reporters.

Separately, Jakarta administration spokesman Muhayat said the city owned about 5 hectares of the site while the remaining 6 hectares belonged to former brothel operators.

Muhayat said the administration had spent Rp 100 billion out of the 2001 city budget on the acquisition of the 6-hectare site.

The brothel complex, which once housed 1,600 prostitutes and 200 pimps, was officially closed on Dec. 8, 1999.

It had originally been planned to build a shopping complex on the site, but the investors pulled out of the plan due to the prolonged economic crisis. (jun)