Gas stations may be added to facilities list

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council supports the municipal administration's plan to include gas stations among the public facilities developers must provide at housing complexes.

Bandjar Marpaung, chairman of the council's Commission D in charge of development affairs, told reporters yesterday that his commission supports the plan after learning that high land prices hinder the construction of gas stations in strategic locations.

The plan was revealed by assistant to the city secretary, Prawoto Danoemihardjo, during a hearing between members of the commission and representatives of the city gas station owners association.

Prawoto said that the plan was made to help meet the steadily rising demand for gas stations across the capital.

Bandjar said after the meeting that one of the best ways to settle the shortage of gas stations is to require real estate developers to build gas stations in their housing complexes.

"Requiring the developers to build gas stations will benefit the residents of the complexes," Bandjar said.

Data at the state oil company, Pertamina, indicate that the number of gas stations in operation throughout the city reaches 153, far from the ideal number of 284. Of the 153 gas stations, 38 are located in areas designated for greenery.

The city administration is currently striving to relocate 10 of those 38 gas stations in order to develop parks and other green areas in their place.

"The relocation program is aimed at increasing the total area of greenery, which functions as the city's lungs," Bandjar said.

Ideally, 30 percent of the city's total area of 65,000 hectares should be set aside for green areas, of which 10 percent are to be parks.

The gas stations to be relocated include those on Jl. Musi, Jl. Hayam Wuruk, Jl. Tanah Abang Timur and Jl. Lap. Banteng.

However, due to difficulty in searching for land for the relocation program, the city administration has decided to postpone it, Bandjar said.

The gas stations owners have been allowed to extend their land use contracts until the city administration feels it is time to relocate the stations.

"The owners can extend the contract every year," Bandjar said.

He said the commission also supports the decision to postpone the relocation program.

However, the commission urged the city administration to require the owners to pay additional fees for the extension of their permits.

"It is fair to ask the owners to pay additional fees because that can increase city revenues," Bandjar said. (yns)