More rice fields in Bekasi may disappear

More rice fields in Bekasi may disappear

BEKASI, WEST JAVA (JP): A property developer's plans for
developing the Cikarang district threatens 3,000 hectares of
productive rice fields in Bekasi, West Java.

PT Grahabuana Cikarang, an industrial and real estate
developer affiliated to PT Kawasan Industry Jababeka (KIJ), will
turn a 5,400 hectare plot in Cikarang, Bekasi, into industrial
and real estate developments.

Out of the 5,400-hectare plot to be developed by PT Grahabuana
Cikarang in the Cikarang district, 3,000 hectares are productive
rice fields," KIJ's managing director, S.D. Darmono, said in a
meeting with a group of industrial inspectors here yesterday.

Darmono said KIJ has submitted the project proposal to
President Soeharto and is now waiting for a reply.

Darmono said if the proposal is approved by the President,
Grahabuana will develop 2,900 hectares of the plot into a real
estate, including houses for employees working in the industrial
estate. Another 1,500 hectares will be for a high-tech industrial
estate, he added.

He said while waiting for the approval, Grahabuana is
currently developing 1,400 hectares out of the 3,000-hectare land
for a housing complex.

Darmono said KIJ itself is developing a 790-hectare industrial
estate in Cikarang, called Cikarang Industrial Estate.

He said there are currently 60 companies operating in the
industrial estate with about 20,000 workers. "We have projected
that there will be about 400 companies operating with an estimate
of 100,000 employees.(02)