Lippo Cikarang changes from 'ghost village' to bustling town
Lippo Cikarang changes from 'ghost village' to bustling town
Kanis Dursin, The Jakarta Post/Lippo Cikarang
Ask any professional to list down the things in the capital he or
she dislikes most and chances are traffic jams will top the list.
For Yuke Elia Susiloputro, however, traffic jams are a sign of
economic growth, especially if they occur in and around the Lippo
Cikarang residential and industrial complex in Bekasi, West Java.
"If there is a traffic jam along the toll road to Lippo
Cikarang or in the compound, I am very happy ... it means that
many people are now coming to work and stay here," said Yuke, the
president director of PT Lippo Cikarang Tbk, in a recent
interview.
Indeed, Lippo Cikarang, situated some 40 kilometers east of
Jakarta, was once considered a remote and creepy place.
In just over a decade, however, the 6,000-hectare housing
complex and industrial zone has grown into a bustling, self-
sustaining town, where some 200,000 people live or earn a living.
Jl. M. H. Thamrin, a four-lane thoroughfare stretching from
south to north, is the town's business hub, with shop-houses and
commercial banks, including one foreign bank, restaurants serving
local and foreign cuisine, fast-food outlets and drugstores as
well as a skyscraper lining both sides for several kilometers.
The Lippo Cikarang Mall, five-star Sahid Lippo Hotel and the
Gleneagles Hospital are also found on the street.
Buses and minivans plying the Lippo Cikarang-Cikarang Terminal
and Lippo Cikarang-Cibarusah routes also drive down the
thoroughfare.
Just walking distance from the shopping center, is the
Cikarang Water Boom, which attracts thousands of people every
week, particularly during weekends and holidays.
Behind the shop-houses, hospital and hotel, in the residential
area where houses are built in clusters according to their types.
Security guards are assigned round the clock at the entrance of
each cluster.
To date, Lippo Cikarang has built over 7,200 houses of a wide
variety of sizes and types, of which around 90 percent are
already occupied.
According to Yuke, around 30,000 people, including some 400
foreigners, are living in Lippo Cikarang, mostly technocrats
working in the town's industrial zone and their family members.
One block away from the business center lies the Lippo
Cikarang industrial zone, which hosts some 550 high-tech
companies, mostly electronics, coming from all over the world,
including Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States,
Switzerland, France, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia
and South Korea.
The companies employ between just dozens and over 10,000
people each, depending on their size.
According to Yuke, Epson, the biggest factory in Lippo
Cikarang, employs 5,000 permanent workers, 3,000 contract workers
and 2,000 daily workers. The company also spends some Rp 1.7
billion for bus services alone every month.
"Over all, there are some 200,000 people who live and work in
Lippo Cikarang," said Yuke, who has been working for PT Lippo
Cikarang since 1992.
"Before, they would ask me 'where do you live?' and if I told
them that I lived in Lippo Cikarang, they would tell me 'Gee!
that is a ghostly place. But now, people are proud to be
associated with Lippo Cikarang," he said.
As the population grows, Lippo Cikarang has also increased its
public facilities. Currently, Lippo Cikarang already has two
mosques, four churches, one gasoline station, 13 playgroups, 13
preschools, seven elementary schools, five junior and senior high
schools, four clinics, two hospitals, six traditional markets,
two supermarkets and eight mini markets and two Korean shops.
"Lippo Cikarang is trying to offer one-stop services, where
people live and work," said Yuke.
Located half way from Semanggi to Karawang, another bustling
industrial zone in West Java, Lippo Cikarang has slowly become a
favorite destination for young professionals.
"Sometimes, professionals working in Karawang and Jakarta come
here for lunch and finally buy a house here," he said.
Looking at how Lippo Cikarang has developed in the past few
years, Yuke is optimistic that his industrial zone will become
one of the best in the country, especially if the Bekasi
administration pushes through with its plan to build a direct
toll road linking Cikarang and Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta.
In the meantime, Yuke is now worried about the security of
residents living in the housing complex, especially the security
of foreigners whose number is increasing.
"I have asked the Bekasi Police to set up a police precinct in
Lippo Cikarang, instead of a sub-precinct as originally planned,"
said Yuke, adding that he often receives calls from foreign
embassies in Jakarta asking about the safety of their citizens in
the housing complex. (END)
I-box
Facilities in Lippo Cikarang
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No Type of facility No. of facilities
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1. Educational:
Playgroup 13
Kindergarten 13
Elementary school 7
Junior high school 5
Senior high school 5
2. Health:
Clinics 4
Integrated health services 1
Hospital 2
3. Sports:
Golf driving range 1
Swimming pool 2
Basketball court 2
Tennis court 2
4. Commercial:
Traditional market 6
Supermarket 2
Mini market 8
5. Places of worship:
Mosques 2
Churches 4
6. Others:
Gasoline stations 1
Drugstores 5
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Source: PT. Lippo Cikarang