New decree sought

JAKARTA (JP): A councilor urged the city administration yesterday to produce a provincial decree on underground property ownership.

The chairman of the city council's commission D for development, Bandjar Marpaung, said that the city administration should produce a decree to regulate the ownership of underground property.

"The regulation is needed because it may affect the development of tunnels in the city. This can be seen in the development of the Sudirman Business District Center in Central Jakarta," Bandjar said.

He explained that the developer of the center, PT Danayasa Arthatama, plans to build tunnels to connect the district with Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. Senopati.

The huge project may face stumbling blocks, as the tunnels will be under plots of land belonging to other companies or individuals, who will claim that everything built under their plot must be controlled by them, Banjar said.

"In a hearing with us, the developer's president director, Nasroel Chas, said it is time to have a regulation to guarantee that the tunnels will not be blocked by owners of the land which the structures will pass through," he said.

Bandjar said that the commission supports the proposal because tunnels are important to ease city traffic.

PT Danayasa Arthatama is constructing a super block on a 44 hectare area on Jl. Sudirman. Nine towers have been built by the company, while the whole project is expected to finish in 2005.(yns)