Kosambi slum area turns into robust warehouse industry site

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

The warehouse industry in the Kosambi area of Tangerang has been experiencing robust growth, creating new jobs for locals and changing the face of the slum area, which used to be rife with gambling and prostitution.

Anyone not visiting Kosambi over the last two years would be surprised to see the rapid changes in the area, which marks the border between West Jakarta and North Jakarta.

Two years ago, Kosambi was just an empty subdistrict, with the number of vehicles passing capable of almost of being counted on the fingers of one hand.

"When night fell, this area would be pitch black with the only lights to be seen along its roads being those from residents' houses," Matsani, a local figure told The Jakarta Post in Kosambi on Wednesday.

Things are completely different now. Almost every second, private cars and loaded trucks are to be seen passing through its main roads on their way to the warehouses.

If one travels in the evening along Jl. Kali Perancis as far as Dadap beach, one can see lights everywhere and the warehouses teeming with activity.

Local businesses are also thriving as a result, and local residents' food stalls can be seen everywhere offering various foodstuffs to visitors.

Matsani acknowledged that the rapid changes were the direct result of the development of the warehouses two years ago.

Many companies built their warehouses in the area as it is very near Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Regency administration spokesman Subarnas said that to date his office had issued some 200 permits for the construction of warehouses in Kosambi, Teluk Naga and Pakuhaji subdistricts. But most of warehouses were located in Kosambi.

Maman, a resident of Jatimulya village, who works in one of the warehouses, said that the warehouses were not only used for storing industrial products, but some of them also functioned as factories for assembling electronic goods and machinery.

"No matter what the warehouses' functions are, the most important thing is that their presence here has created new jobs for us," Maman said.

But, unfortunately, the administration has been turning a blind eye to the poor condition of the area's infrastructure. Despite the heavy traffic to and from the warehouses, the roads there have yet to be upgraded. To reach Kosambi from Jakarta, one has to travel along a narrow road through Kapuk.

Unless the administration provides direct access from Kosambi to the airport and downtown Tangerang, traffic congestion in the area is bound to worsen.

But Tangerang regency council spokesman, Dadang Kartasasmita, said that the council had recommended to the administration the construction of new roads, not only from Tangerang to Kosambi, but to all subdistricts across the regency.

He said the administration planned the construction of three main arteries through the northern, central and southern parts of the regency.

The northern arterial route would connect various coastal districts such as Kosambi, Teluknaga, Pakuhaji, Mauk, Kronjo, Kresek and the regency capital of Tigaraksa.

The southern arterial road would connect the districts of Pondok Aren, Ciputat, Pamulang, Serpong, Legok, Curug, Cisoka, and Tigaraksa, while the central arterial route, which is being developed at present, would connect Serang regency, Balaraja, Tigaraksa, Cikupa, Tangerang downtown and Jakarta.

"We, the councillors, have asked the administration to construct the roads soon. And thank God, the administration has given a positive response," he said, adding that the new roads connecting the districts must be of adequate width and quality.

However, Dadang failed to elaborate on how the road construction projects would be carried out and be financed.