Lippo to construct 70-story tower on Jl. Sudirman
Lippo to construct 70-story tower on Jl. Sudirman
JAKARTA (JP): The Lippo Group will build a 70-story building
called Sudirman Asia Tower at a cost of US$160 million in the Jl.
Sudirman golden triangle in South Jakarta.
PT Lippoland Development in cooperation with Hyundai
Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. of South Korea is scheduled
to start the construction of the project by the end of this year.
A cooperation agreement for the construction of the project
was signed yesterday by Roy E. Tirtadji, managing director of the
Lippo Group and H.S. Chang, a representative of Hyundai at Lippo
Village, Tangerang.
The signing was witnessed by Mochtar Riady, chairman of the
Lippo Group, and executives of Hyundai Engineering & Construction
Co. Ltd.
"We construct the tower, the highest in the country, in
response to the projection that demand for office space will
substantially increase in 1998," Roy said.
"We hope that the construction of this project can be finished
in December 1998," he said, adding that the tower will be built
on an 8,000 square-meter plot of land on the former site of
Jakarta Hospital.
He said that Jakarta Hospital has been relocated to a plot of
land belonging to the Lippo Group.
Roy also explained that the funds for the construction of the
project will be provided by both Lippo and Hyundai under a 50-50
share scheme.
He further explained that the office space at the Sudirman
Asia Tower will be for sale, not for rent. "It is always Lippo's
principle to sell its office space, instead of renting it. This
decision is taken to avoid any risks if there is any economic
crisis in the market," he said.
By selling the space, we can still profit even though the
amount is not as big as if the space were rented, he added.
Roy also said that the design of the building is currently
being prepared by Cesar Pelli & Associates Inc., an architecture
consultant from United States. The design is expected to be
completed within the next two to three months.
Responding to a question on the building permit for the
construction of the tower, Mochtar Riady expressed confidence
that it will be no problem because the project is in line with
the city administration's policy of inviting businessmen to
invest in high-rise buildings to help solve the problem of land
shortage.
The Sudirman Asia Tower constitutes one of Lippo Group's major
building projects, which include satellite cities in Cikarang,
Bukit Sentul and Karawaci.
In a related development, business tycoons Prayogo Pengestu
and Sudwikatmono reportedly plan to build a "mega-tower" billed
as the second highest in the world in the Kemayoran area of North
Jakarta.
Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tanjung was quoted by the
Republika daily as saying on Wednesday that the tower will be 450
meters in height.
Prayogo of the Barito Pacific Group and Sudwikatmono of the
Indocement Tunggal Perkasa are among the owners of five large-
scale companies, which will form a consortium in charge of the
construction of the building.
"The building will have a height four times that of the Monas
monument," the minister said, adding that the highest part of the
building will be used as a telecommunications center, followed by
a rotating restaurant below it and hotels, office space and
business centers.
Details of the construction of the tower, including the
funding, are currently being worked out, he said.
The minister said that the tower is part of the Kemayoran
development plan. (31)