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.