New retail concept opens in Jakarta

New retail concept opens in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): A new retail center, Kelapa Gading Mall in North
Jakarta, will open this month, and is expected to draw the
attention of international shoppers, Jakarta's large expatriate
community and the city's wealthy Indonesians.

The opening of the US$37.42 million facility will speed up
Jakarta's intention to gain ground on its regional counterparts
in the luxury retail industry: Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

Designed by international architects, The Rice Daubney Group,
and managed by their Jakarta office, PT Rice Daubney Cipta, the
three-story mall took three years to construct.

The Rice Daubney Group won an international retail design
competition against other large multi-national architectural
firms for the project.

"Our Jakarta-based mix of Indonesian and expatriate staff
added extensive local knowledge of building conditions and design
parameters," Rod Trotter, a director of the Sydney-based group,
said over the weekend.

The project was developed by PT Summarecon Agung, a local
housing developer whose Kelapa Gading estate incorporates
schools, apartments, one of Jakarta's largest sports clubs and
the new retail complex.

Kelapa Gading Mall and Jakarta's other retail malls -- Plaza
Indonesia, Blok M Mall, Citraland Mall and Pondok Indah Mall --
will undoubtedly position Indonesia's capital as a Southeast
Asian center of retail dominance, he said. (hhr)