Kodel Group to expand into services business

Kodel Group to expand into services business

JAKARTA (JP): The diversified Kodel Group will expand into the
hospitality, restaurant and sport businesses next year, making a
total investment of Rp 63.7 billion (US$27 million).

Soegeng Sarjadi, an executive of the business group, announced
yesterday that his group would build a three-star hotel and open
a hotel school, a catering service and training program, a coffee
shop, and a bowling center.

"We are going to open in Bandung a hotel school called
Widyawisata in September next year and a commercial three-star
hotel of 120 rooms called Puri Dago early in 1998," he said. The
integrated project will cost $22 million.

Widyawisata school, accredited by the Singaporean Hotel
Association SHATEC, will train 600 students a year and give them
apprenticeships in the Puri Dago hotel, he said.

"We should create qualified and well-trained hotel personnel
to anticipate the government's plan to reduce expatriate hotel
personnel," he said.

According to a new government regulations, hotels must have no
more than three expatriate managers in their ranks by the year
2000.

Kodel will cooperate with the U.S. companies in managing the
catering service and training program, the coffee shop and the
bowling center, he said.

Soegeng said the catering service and training program will be
run in cooperation with the American catering company Adela.

The coffee shop will be a franchise of the U.S. company
Starbucks, he said. Starbucks coffee is actually imported from
Indonesia.

The 40-lane bowling center at the Pluit Mall in North Jakarta
is being built in cooperation with Brunswick, he said.

Soegeng himself plans to open two restaurants early next year
and manage the already-existing TGI Friday's restaurant in
cooperation with Cicip S Soetardjo and Antony Salim, under a
joint venture with PT Tri Saga Sarana.

"Including the take over of the TGI Friday's franchise, the
total investment will reach Rp 11 billion ($4.6 million)," he
said.

He said the other two restaurants were the Italiani Restaurant
in Kemang, South Jakarta, and the Front Row restaurant near
Senayan.

"Front Row is the biggest sport and entertainment restaurant
in the country where you could watch sport programs in television
channels as you eat" he said.

Kodel Group franchises several restaurants and manages sport
facilities and hotels, including Regent Hotel and Ibis
Tamarin. (04)