Megaglodok sees brighter future as shopping center for industry

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Herry Chandra, a businessman who owns a factory in the Jababeka Industrial Estate in Bekasi, West Java, was extremely pleased when he heard a retail center would open in Jakarta offering a large selection of industrial equipment under one roof.

"I think the mall will be very useful for businessmen in the industrial sector such as myself, as it is difficult to buy factory equipment in the capital," Chandra said on the sidelines of the grand opening of Megaglodok Kemayoran in Central Jakarta on Monday.

Chandra said he used to spend hours trying to find the equipment he needed for his factory at different retail centers in Glodok, West Jakarta.

"Buying factory equipment in Glodok is really time-consuming because you have to search different stores in several malls to find what you want. Here, you can find everything in one mall," he said.

Built on six hectares in the Kemayoran business complex, the 10-story Megaglodok, which has 2,300 stores, 70 percent of which are currently occupied, offers a large selection of merchandise.

The first two floors sell engines, electrical equipment and computers, while the next two floors feature furniture and housewares.

Floors five to eight offer automotive spare parts and accessories, as well as automotive workshops, while levels nine and 10 are set aside for exhibitions.

Sasmita Winata, president director of PT Jakarta Kemayoran Property, the developer of Megaglodok, said equipment sellers from Glodok, Pasar Senen and Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta, and Asam Reges and Fatmawati in South Jakarta, had been gathered together in the new retail center.

"We want to provide industrial companies with the equipment they need. Glodok is still an important center for industrial equipment, but now people have an alternative. This mall is easy to reach from all directions and is not as hectic as Glodok," he said.

Sasmita said Megaglodok also had more parking space compared to Glodok and could accommodate over 5,000 cars.

He said the mall, which cost about Rp 600 billion to develop, would also provide a remedy for the frequent complaint of local producers of industrial equipment that they did not have a location where they could market their products.

The marketing division head at Jakarta Kemayoran Property, Suhandi, said Megaglodok was equipped with the latest communication technology to allow tenants to maintain contact with their factories, warehouses and even their homes, without having to leave the mall.

"We will use the latest technology that requires us to use only one cable for all our connection lines. Tenants can have dozens of telephone lines with only one cable," he said.

Suhandi said the mall would also provide a directory so visitors could contact stores directly to find the goods they needed.

Semeru Soekarno, the executive director of the group that manages the Kemayoran business complex, said he hoped Megaglodok would provide a boost for business activities in the complex.

"We plan to build nine other malls along the southern part of the complex. We hope the area will come to be recognized internationally as a center of business," he said.

Semeru said his office, which is under the auspices of the State Secretariat, granted PT Jakarta Kemayoran Property a 25- year lease on the land.