Governor pledges to keep Kebon Kacang apartment status
Governor pledges to keep Kebon Kacang apartment status
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja reassured occupants
of Kebon Kacang apartment buildings that he would not let the
their low-cost apartment status be a means for letting developers
use the building for other functions.
"The apartment will remain there and will not be used for
other functions, including shopping centers, office complexes or
luxury condominiums," said Governor Surjadi Soedirdja during his
tour to Kebon Kacang and other areas in the city on Sunday.
The governor had repeatedly insisted that his administration
would not let the status of Kebon Kacang apartment change.
However, doubts still linger on the part of the occupants
following last year's aggressive purchase of the apartment units
by the Golden Truly supermarket chains near in Kebon Kacang.
The company, which is owned by business tycoon Sudwikatmono,
was believed to have intentions of appropriating the low-cost
apartment complex and turning the plot, not far from Jl. MH
Thamrin, into supermarkets or allowing them to be used for
commercial purposes.
As of May, 1993, 70 of 536 units of the 12-year old facilities
had been purchased by the employees of the Golden Truly group.
The purchase was seen a sophisticated tactic on the part of
Golden Truly to finally take over the ownership of the buildings.
Surjadi insisted the apartments' existence was already in tune
with the city's zoning plan and helped solve housing problems in
the city to some extent.
Housing, he said, was one of the mayor problems faced by the
city administration as the number of migrants increased every
year.
"After Idul Fitri, for example, 208,000 people from various
areas in Java came here, but 2,400 of them were stranded in the
city bus terminals without accommodation," said the governor.
During the tour, Surjadi also visited the Batik-mills complex
in Setiabudi district, South Jakarta, and ordered the factory-
owners which remain there to relocate their factories.
There were 182 factories in the area, some of which dated back
to the Dutch colonial era.
The municipal administration had earlier ordered the
relocation be finished by March 31. However, so far, there are 25
mills still operating in the area.
South Jakarta Mayor Pardjoko, still giving more chances for
the owners to relocate their business, threatened to close down
the factories if the remaining 25 were still reluctant to move
their business.
According to city's zoning plan, the Setia Budi district is
designated as residential area, while several locations in West
Java province had been allotted for the batik mills, including
Jababeka industrial complex in Cikarang and Lippo City in
Bekasi.(jsk)