Mayors asked to speed up warehouse relocation plan

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has instructed the West and Central Jakarta mayors to see that businessmen in three districts in the two mayoralties relocate their warehouses.

"The mayors should tell the businessmen to relocate their warehouses from the Kota area because the governor has given them the authority to do so," Sri Untari, a staff member of the city administration's economic bureau, said.

At the moment there are about 40 warehouses still located in the Taman Sari and Tambora districts of West Jakarta and Sawah Besar district in Central Jakarta. Previously there were a total of 124 warehouses in those areas.

"I am sure there will be no more warehouses in those areas by the end of next year if the owners truly understand the urgent need to relocate their warehouses to other areas," Sri said.

The City Council has urged the city administration to speed up the relocation program because the warehouses in downtown Kota area cause several problems such as heavy traffic snarls and air pollution.

The city administration has been planning to relocate the warehouses in the Tambora, Tamansari and Sawah Besar districts since 1984.

However, due to various problems, the city administration could not start the relocation program until two years ago. But there are many businessmen who are reluctant to relocate their warehouses because they say the designated new locations are too far from the business center.

The city administration has selected several alternative locations for the warehouses throughout the city: Sunter Barat, Sunter Timur, Ciracas, Pulogadung, Cipinang and Cilincing.

When asked about what kind of penalties would be imposed on disobedient businessmen, Sri said that the city administration would not hesitate to close down their warehouses.

She explained it would be difficult to ask the owners to demolish the warehouses because that requires a lot of funds and there is a gubernatorial decree stating the need to preserve old buildings built during the Dutch colonial era which are used as warehouses. (yns)