Many developers fail to construct low-cost housing
JAKARTA (JP): City Council members criticized private property developers yesterday for failing to build low-cost apartments according to schedule.
Many developers have failed to construct apartments for low- income people, arguing that the governor has not provided the needed land.
The councilors emphasized that the businessmen should have the initiative to keep reminding the administration of its obligation to provide the sites for the low-cost housing.
"Developers should not keep waiting for the city administration to determine the location. Instead, they should keep asking," said Soetarman AMD, Deputy Chairman of the Council's Commission D in charge of public works.
"The commission urges the developers to be pro-active so that they can build the badly needed low-cost apartments," Soetarman told reporters.
Secretary of the Commission Bahriyoen Soetjipto supported Soetarman's proposal, saying that development of more low-cost apartments is one of the city's priorities.
Bigger role
Bahriyoen noted that private developers should play a bigger role in the development of housing for the poor because the city administration is unable to do it alone due to financial constraints.
He suggested that builders should start work as soon as they have the necessary permits.
He noted the case of PT Indokisar Jaya, a developer of apartments, hotels and house/shops on Jl. Pecenongan, Central Jakarta, as an example.
Under a 1990 gubernatorial decree, developers are required to build a low-cost apartment when they build an upscale one. But PT Indokisar Jaya has not yet built a low-cost one because it is waiting for the city administration to determine the location it is supposed to build on.
Action
"This kind of confusion would not have occurred if the developer had not just waited (for the city administration to determine the location)" Bahriyoen said.
PT Indokisar is facing punitive action by the city administration because it has not begun the construction of the apartments.
Bahriyoen said the construction of the luxury apartments has been 60 percent completed and therefore it is time for the developer to fulfill its obligation to build the low-cost apartments.
Managing Director of PT Indokisar Alex Lingas told the city council that it will discuss the matter with the city administration as soon as possible.
Every year the city needs 70,000 housing facilities and, due to land shortages, 30 percent of the demand should be fulfilled by low-cost apartments and condominiums.
Fifty percent of the demand is fulfilled by private developers who build luxurious housing for the middle and upper classes and the rest should be fulfilled by the city administration.
The city administration plans to build housing for 3,150 families every year from the 1995/1996 fiscal until 2006.
Currently the city administration is constructing 40 apartments 21 square-meters in Jati Bunder, 152 in Karet Tengsin, 532 in Bendungan Hilir and 288 in Tebet.
From 1985 there has been a total of 7,163 low-cost apartments of various types built in the city, from 18 square-meter apartments to 54 square-meters. More than 1,200 apartments will be constructed and ready for occupancy next year.(yns)