Muara Karang old traders get priority

Muara Karang old traders get priority

JAKARTA (JP): The Pluit area authority has guaranteed that
Muara Karang market traders will be given priority in purchasing
kiosks at the new marketplace.

Abdulgani H. Abdullah, the chairman of city council's
commission for economic affairs, told reporters yesterday that
lower prices will be offered to the 253 traders and 18 street
vendors who used to operate in the area.

The guarantee was made in response to the traders' recent
worries that they might not be able to afford the new kiosks,
which will be more expensive than the old ones.

The market traders have been told to move before Dec. 1, but
no official date has been cited for the rebuilding of the market.

The authority plans to renovate the Muara Karang market,
located in Pluit subdistrict, North Jakarta, because the space is
no longer considered appropriate for market activities. The new
market will have three stories.

Abdulgani quoted Darrundono, the authority's head, as saying
that traders on the first floor will be provided with kiosks.

"The kiosks will cost Rp 27.5 million each. The local traders
will be allowed to pay monthly installments of Rp 62,00 over 20
years, without any down payment," Abdulgani said.

He said he believed that the traders would be able to afford
the new kiosks. "They were able to pay between Rp 45,000 and Rp
54,000 in monthly installments for a kiosk in the existing
market, which was built 11 years ago."

The new market building, with a total space of 3,060 square
meters, will stand on an area of 5,120 square meters.

Abdulgani said that the renovation work will be conducted by a
private developer, PT Bumi Citra Sentosajaya, under a Build
Operate and Transfer system.

He said that Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has approved the
project.

He said the city council has also approved the plan, as stated
in the council's decree no. 16/1995. (32)