Low-cost apartment needs Rp 15 billion

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration plans to spend Rp 15 billion (US$1.8 million) on building low-cost apartments on Jl. Sindang Koja in North Jakarta this year, an official said.

"The construction of the two-block apartment will cost Rp 10 billion while the remaining Rp 5 billion is for the land acquisition," project manager, Bindu Hutapea, said.

He said the six-story blocks would stand on a 3.6-hectare plot. Each block will consist of 100 units measuring 21-square- meters.

The plot was formerly a slum area that caught fire early last year, he added.

Hutapea said the North Jakarta mayoralty had decided to pay between Rp 200,000 and 240,000 per square meter of the land.

"It's not compensation but rather a donation since the land belongs to the state," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

For residents who have the titles, the mayoralty will offer Rp 563,000 per square meter and Rp 429,000 per square meter of land to people who have a government permit to build, he said.

"But official data shows that 90 percent of the land belongs to the state," he said.

He said the government would also give compensation to owners of properties on the land of Rp 270 per watt of electricity and Rp 1 million per telephone line in each building. (jun)