Koja people persist with land dispute

JAKARTA (JP): Residents of Koja Utara, North Jakarta, yesterday said they will prevent any construction in the area until their property rights dispute with the state-owned company PT Pelindo II is resolved.

More than one hundred residents gathered yesterday at the site to prevent the repair of any new or old fences in the area.

One of the leaders of the Koja delegation, Mohdar Barga, said they heard about the company's intentions from the local military commander, Capt. Mohamad Nuh.

"The commander told us about the plan last night," he said.

The plan, however, failed because the contractor was urged by residents to cancel it.

The action on the part of the residents was the third since June, when the company first started digging ditches for the laying of drainage pipes.

In a hearing with the House of Representatives last month PT Pelindo, a state-owned company managing seaports, explained that the dispute was finished after the Mayor of North Jakarta, Suprawito, offered the residents Rp 100,000 to Rp 165,000 per square meter in compensation for the land.

The Koja residents initially insisted that the compensation be set at Rp 2.27 million per square meter.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto during his meeting with Tanjung Priok port facility users last month said that the port project had to be continued on schedule and that he would ask the local transportation ministry offices or even the armed forces officers to solve the conflict.

The Koja Utara subdistrict, which is located next to the Tanjung Priok container terminal, has been earmarked for a new cargo terminal site. The new terminal is being built at a cost of US$498 million and will start operations in October 1998. (01)