Jababeka eases Jakarta's population, employment problems

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.