Mayor to get new office

Mayor to get new office

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

There could be more than city officials moving into the new
office building of the South Jakarta Mayoralty on Jl. Prapanca
Raya, South Jakarta, which is expected to be in full operation in
January.

The estimated Rp 250 billion (US$28 million) project, which
will be completed in 2005, was built over the Blok P cemetery,
and ghosts could well be a part of the package deal.

The new building (see photo below) is located on 4.7 hectares
of land in the upscale housing district near the Blok M bus
terminal and Jl. Kemang Raya and is the site of the former
cemetery, where Ade Irma Suryani, the daughter of the late Gen.
A.H. Nasution who was shot during the foiled Sept. 30 revolt in
1965, is buried.

The project was started late in 1997 by excavating the old
cemetery despite public protests.

There are two underground floors in the new building and
spacious parking lots on 2.3 hectares of land. The Ade Irma
Suryani monument, a water reservoir and a public park are being
developed to take up the remaining 2.4 hectares.

The decor and furniture for the new offices were inspired by
the Betawi (native Jakartan) culture.

The mayoralty's secretary, Dadang Effendi, said on Monday that
the office was waiting for Governor Sutiyoso's approval before
the officials move out of the current office on Jl. Trunojoyo. At
the moment, only four floors of the 11-story construction are
ready to be occupied.

"We expect all branches, spread throughout many areas of the
mayoralty, to be in the new office by 2005 to provide complete,
integrated public service all under one roof," he told The
Jakarta Post.

The current office, owned by the city administration, will be
temporarily occupied by public services. In the future, Dadang
said, the mayoralty will propose to the city administration to
transform the building into a public facility, such as a
hospital.