Kota Wisata going strong despite economic gloom

Kota Wisata going strong despite economic gloom

JAKARTA (JP): While most property developments appear to be at
a standstill, the owners of Kota Wisata -- a mega housing complex
in Cibubur, East Jakarta -- have claimed that business is
booming.

Fumio Okita, vice president of the 1,000-hectare project, said
yesterday that construction on the first stage of the project
started in March 1996 and had been completed now.

All 2,000 houses in the first stage, which range in price from
Rp 80 million (US$21,920) to Rp 400 million, have been sold, he
said after attending Kota Wisata's first anniversary celebration.

"Until today, we have earned a total of Rp 270 billion from
sales and that's the reason why we are confident about the future
of the housing industry in Indonesia despite the currency crisis,
which is publicly said to have affected the property market and
projections," Okita said.

Kota Wisata is being jointly developed by PT Duta Pertiwi --
part of the Sinar Mas Group -- Marubeni Corporation of Japan, LG
International Corporation of South Korea, and the Land & Houses
Public Co. of Thailand.

Duta Pertiwi has a 29 percent stake in the project, Marubeni
has 26 percent, LG has 25 percent and the remaining 20 percent is
owned by Land & Houses.

The first stage occupies 144 hectares of the plot and cost Rp
5.5 trillion to build.

Okita said work on the remaining 856 hectares would continue
as planned.

"Our investment is in U.S. dollars, so we're not worried at
all about the local currency rate and particularly because sales
are proceeding with satisfying results," he said. "Why should we
panic and retreat from the housing industry?"

Okita refused to disclose the investment required for the next
stages but said work would begin soon.

Located about 35 kilometers from here, Kota Wisata is being
developed into residential and commercial areas and parks modeled
on some of the world's big cities, such as Vienna, Amsterdam,
Florence, Paris, California, Madrid, Marseille and Kyoto.

The size of residential houses in the complex range from 45
square meters to 244 square meters.

Okita said the project targets Indonesia's growing middle
class.

Marubeni's president, Iwao Toriumi, who also attended
yesterday's ceremony, said he remained optimism about the
project.

"I know that this project is aimed at middle-class consumers,
and as far as I'm concerned, the Jakartan middle class is growing
and for them housing is really central to their way of life."
Toriumi said. (04)