Megaglodok sees brighter future as shopping center for industry
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.