Groundbreaking ceremony of Koridor Satrio canceled

Groundbreaking ceremony of Koridor Satrio canceled

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration abruptly canceled the
groundbreaking for Jakarta's first international tourism and
shopping belt just hours before the ceremony was scheduled to go
ahead yesterday evening.

Hundreds of invitees and performers were surprised by the news
when they arrived at the Koridor Satrio site on Jl. Prof. Dr.
Satrio in Central Jakarta.

Dozens of reporters could only report on the disappointed
faces of performers, who were attired in costume and makeup.

The city administration could not explain the cancellation.

There were rumors Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, who was
scheduled to lead the ceremony, was upset after learning that
some of the planned projects along the 1.8-kilometer street have
not yet fulfilled requirements of the existing environment law.

Surjadi was scheduled to be at Mal Ciputra basement at 6:30
p.m. yesterday to mark the beginning of work on the Koridor
Satrio project.

Hundreds of people, including high-ranking government
officials, diplomats and businesspeople were reportedly invited
by the city administration to witness the event.

Mal Ciputra is one of the planned projects to be built on the
street.

Poedji I.H. Prasetyo from PT Citra Development public
relations, said she learned about the cancellation of the
ceremony at about 11 a.m..

"So far, I've not received any information from the city
officers on why the ceremony was canceled so suddenly," she told
The Jakarta Post.

"I was only told the governor asked to cancel the ceremony,"
Poedji added.

According to Poedji, property owners on Jl. Prof. Satrio
support the city's planned Koridor Satrio project. "But we're not
organizers of the ceremony," she said, concerned that invitees
would blame her company for the unexpected cancellation.

Poedji said city officers had called important invitees, such
as high-ranking officials and diplomats about the canceled venue.

Police Chief Sergeant Toto confirmed there were no important
figures among disappointed invitees at the site of the scheduled
ceremony yesterday.

Workers at the site started taking down banners shortly after
they were informed about the cancellation.

Performers of the native Jakarta Ondel-ondel puppets and
members of a marching band group were disappointed by the news.

City Spokesman Amaludin Santos could not be reached for
comment.

According to the plan, completion of the 100-hectare Koridor
Satrio project would help speed up Jakarta's goal of becoming a
high-class service city.

The Rp 10 trillion (US$3.7 billion) shopping and tourist
project is expected to be completed within 10 to 20 years.

So far, nine private investors are involved in the Koridor
Satrio project which will include environmentally friendly
sidewalks, shopping malls, sidewalk cafes, restaurants, art
galleries and a tourist information office.

The project aims to create a friendly environment for
pedestrians.

Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio is situated in the city's golden triangle
business district, linking Jl. HR Rasuna Said in the east and Jl.
Jend. Sudirman in the west. (ste/bsr)