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

------------------------------------------------------- No Type of facility No. of facilities ------------------------------------------------------- 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 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: PT. Lippo Cikarang