Jababeka eases Jakarta's population, employment problems

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The following is the second of a series of articles on ares that are developing very rapidly and easing Jakarta's social problems. It was a bright, sunny morning and unless people read the industrial zone's sign board, they would probably think they were in an Jakarta upmarket residential area.

In fact, it is a corner of a housing complex in the Jababeka industrial zone in Cikarang, Bekasi, West Java, 40 kilometers east of Jakarta.

"I work for a local company. My family and I live here. With local schools, banks, hospitals, markets, a park and a sport center, my family and I don't have to go to Jakarta anymore unless we want a day out in Dunia Fantasi, Ancol or Taman Mini," Suparman, 35, a resident of Jababeka, told The Jakarta Post recently.

After several years of working and living in Jakarta, Suparman, who comes from Purwokerto, Central Java, moved to Jababeka in 2003 to work for a foreign company in the area.

Suparman is just one of thousands of people who moved from Jakarta to Jababeka to earn a living. Jababeka is home to over 150,000 people from various ethnic groups and nationalities.

Built on abandoned rice fields in 1989, Jababeka now has over 1,100 corporate tenants, including multinational company giants such as Unilever, Mattel, United Tractors and Samsung, on 2,970 hectares of land, which has been developed into an integrated industrial, commercial and residential area.

"From the beginning, we wanted Jababeka to be home to foreign investors who create jobs for local people. This led to a demand for housing as all of the employees here needed homes located nearby," Jababeka president director Setyono Djuandi Darmono told the Post.

To attract foreign investors and to compete with other industrial estate developers, Jababeka built world-class infrastructure, including an unlimited power supply from the privately developed power plant run by Cikarang Listrindo, a Jababeka-affiliated company, water and waste water treatment plants and a full range of telecommunications facilities.

The result is that over 1,100 small, medium and large-scale companies specializing in chemicals, consumer goods, food, machinery and metal manufacturing from 24 countries moved their offices, production bases and marketing offices to the growing city.

The tenant companies employ thousands of people from Jakarta and surrounding areas.

"As a result of the multiplier effect, all of the big companies brought with them several smaller company partners, which also employ thousands of people," Darmono said.

Over 150,000 people, comprising employees of tenant companies and other residents, now live in the zone, compared to around 10,000 people in 1989.

To accommodate the growing number of companies and their employees, Jababeka has built Kota Hijau Cikarang Baru, a housing complex. Some 10,000 families are living in the 12,500-house complex.

Aside from inviting top private schools, banks, restaurants and hospitals to establish branches in the city, Jababeka has also built shopping centers, a university, a golf and country club and an education park to cater to the needs of its residents.

"We are the first and largest industrial city in the country. We help ease Jakarta's burden by providing jobs and housing. Instead of moving to Jakarta, people from other regions come to Jababeka," Darmono said.

With migrants continuing to pour into Jakarta, unchecked urban growth has often been cited as a major reason for many of the capital's woes. It is estimated that around 200,000 people move to Jakarta every year to earn a living.

Buffer areas around Jakarta such as Jababeka are one of the few remedies to the capital's problems.

By definition, Jababeka is a self-sustaining city in the sense that its residents can earn a living and fulfill their needs there.

With over 1,100 companies based in Jababeka, Darmono claims that around one-quarter of the country's output is produced by Jababeka with a gross domestic product of US$10 billion per year.

Jababeka now aims to become a self-governing city by establishing a council called LPPMC that represents its residents, including tenants, employees, local people.

"We want this council to later become a city council for Jababeka. We want it to become a fully self-governing city, and become an excellent example and 'laboratory' for other regions of how to run a city as we have all first-class facilities and people," Darmono said.