Nine more apartment projects under construction this year
Nine more apartment projects under construction this year
Agustina Wayansari
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
At least nine apartment towers will be built in Jakarta this
year, giving more positive proof that the country's ailing
property sector is recovering.
The construction of the new projects follows the successful
opening of at least five new apartment projects in the capital
this year.
Major property developer PT Agung Podomoro Group will build
three of the apartment projects, an apparent move of the company
to take advantage of signs of improvement in the economy.
The three projects include the five-tower Pakubuwono
Residences which will be built on Jalan Pakubuwono, Kebayoran
Baru, South Jakarta, the Mediterania Palace Residences Tower B in
Kemayoran, Central Jakarta and Gading Resort Residences in Kelapa
Gading, North Jakarta.
"Construction of Pakubuwono Residences apartment will begin in
June this year and it is scheduled for completion in December
2005," Pakubuwono Residences general sales manager Ray Susilo
said in a recent interview with The Jakarta Post.
Ray said that the Pakubuwono apartment complex, which will
occupy a five-hectare plot, will have 639 apartments, including
dozens of penthouses.
Construction of the apartment complex is based on the new
apartment development concept, which emphasizes the need for
allocating more space for facilities for sport and social
activities.
"About 80 percent of the five-hectare area has been designated
for sport facilities, a park and a children's playground," Ray
said.
Apartments in the new complex will start selling in June with
price tags ranging between Rp 1.9 billion and Rp 10 billion
(about US$1.17 million) per unit. "Some investors have expressed
an interest in buying some of the units either to rent out or to
live in," he added.
The management will also be able to offer help in managing and
renting out the apartments if the buyers do not use them, he
said.
Separately, Rawisyah Aditya, the advertising and promotion
manager of Agung Podomoro Group, said another project of the
group would be built on a 1.6 hectare plot at Kelapa Gading
Square in North Jakarta.
The 430-unit Gading Resort Residence complex will be divided
into four blocks, comprising 28 towers of between six and 12
floors.
He said that this apartment complex, to be built in a resort
style, would carry a minimum price tag of Rp 650 million per
unit. Construction will also begin in June and is scheduled for
completion in 2004.
"The price reflects the fair value of this exclusive apartment
complex," Rawisyah said.
Besides the two apartment complexes, Podomoro is developing an
apartment complex called Mediterania Palace Residences Tower B,
which is located on a 1.6 hectare area in Kemayoran, Central
Jakarta. The apartment tower will have 540 units and construction
is scheduled to be completed in 2005.
The three new projects follow the completion of several of
Agung Podomoro's apartment projects over the past two years,
including the Mediterania Garden Residence apartment complex in
Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, which opened early this year.
In addition to Podomoro, several other developers have also
announced plans to build new apartment complexes this year. The
projects include the 32-unit Daksa Residence in South Jakarta,
the 1,362-unit Mutiara Mas in East Jakarta, the Bellagio Mansion
in the Central Business District, Jalan Sudirman, South Jakarta,
Grand Permata Tower B in South Jakarta and the townhouse Permata
Senayan in South Jakarta.
The economic crisis, which hit Indonesia in late 1997,
jeopardized most of the country's business sectors. Many property
projects were canceled due to the crisis. The property industry,
one of the hardest hit in the business sector, started showing
signs of life again two years ago with the construction of new
projects.
Apartment developers said they are optimistic that further
improvements in the economy, as indicated in the strengthening of
the rupiah to the U.S. dollar, would stimulate economic
activities.
"Improvements in the economy will automatically have a
positive impact on the property sector," one developer said.
Meanwhile, property consultant Procon reported in its
Quarterly Property Review that a total of 179 units of apartments
were put on the market during the first quarter of this year.
The new supply came from Pantai Mutiara Tower 2 and the rest
from the conversion of rental apartment units at Setiabudi
Apartments.
An additional supply also came from townhouse units at Vila
Kemang Hijau, which was converted into townhouses for sale.
Sales of units in projects under construction will continue in
2003. The projects include Grand Permata Apartment Tower 2 and
Tower B of Mediterania Palace Residences of Podomoro Group.
A new supply of apartments in the second half of 2003 will
come from Pantai Mutiara Apartment Tower 3 and 4, Da Vinci
Apartment and Ambassador Apartment Tower 2, Procon said.