New market area to be ready soon

New market area to be ready soon

JAKARTA (JP): The market festival project, designed to give Jakarta the latest concept in leisure, sports and recreation, on Jl. Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, is expected to be completed soon, an executive of the project said yesterday.

Hamizar Hamid, president of PT Catur Swasakti Utama, said after signing a syndicated loan of Rp 43 billion (US$19.54 million) to finance construction of the project, the facilities will be ready for the soft opening before Indonesian Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 17.

The syndicated loan was signed by Hamid and Thomas Tampi, director of Bank Universal, which leads the loan syndication. PT Catur Swasakti Utama is a subsidiary of the Bakrie Group.

The project, which costs about Rp 100 billion, is being developed, in cooperation with the city administration, to renovate the outdated Soemantri Brodjonegoro Student Sports Center.

Harmil Singh, chief executive of Bakrie Pesona Rasuna, said that facilities in the project include the Pasar Festival, the renovated Brodjonegoro Sports Center and Club Rasuna.

Harmil said that once finished, the project will become Jakarta's local equivalent of the Festival Market concept made famous by Convent Garden in London, Darling Harbor in Sydney and Clark Quay in Singapore.

"The difference is that the combination of Pasar Festival and the Soemantri Brodjonegoro Sports Center will provide the city's most extensive and varied facilities for sports, dining, shopping and other forms of recreation," he added. (hhr)