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)