No more bartering on city properties
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will no longer allow private developers to do barter deals for city properties, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has said.
Surjadi made the remarks Wednesday in response to questions about the city's plans for the site of the current South Jakarta Mayoralty office on Jl. Trunojoyo, which is adjacent to the ASEAN Secretariat and National Police Headquarters.
The office is to be moved to a 4.7-hectare plot of land in the former Blok P cemetery.
"The land on which the mayoralty office currently stands will remain the property of the city. We have no plans to do a barter deal with any private parties," Surjadi said.
And he reiterated that no more barter deals would be done for the city's other properties.
South Jakarta Mayor Pardjoko said that his office would follow any instructions from the governor.
He also denied rumors that the city planned to turn the plot into a mall and then hand it over to the private sector.
"It's not true. We will not do any barter deals for city properties with private developers. On the contrary, the site will be used for public service buildings, such as an administration office, a public library and probably a culture and arts center including a gallery and a playhouse," Pardjoko said.
He said that if the city planned to do a barter deal on its property, it had to get approval from the City Council first.
"Without the council's approval, the city can't go on with the barter plan. So, once again the city will not 'sell' the plot on Jl. Trunojoyo to private parties," he said.
Pardjoko said the city had a lot of valuable and strategic properties, including offices and plots in the central business district.
"And we intend to keep them," he said, adding that the assets were priceless. "Once we sell them, we will never get them back. Land price in Jakarta are rising rapidly. So, it's best for the administration to hold on to its properties."
The decision to close the Blok P cemetery in South Jakarta provoked a public outcry and criticism, particularly regarding the relocation of the remains of Ade Irma Suryani Nasution, the daughter of Indonesia's most senior living soldier.
The title of national hero was bestowed on her in 1965.
In response to the criticism, the municipality dropped its plan to move Ade Irma's grave. The removal of other graves, however, is going ahead and the construction of the new mayoralty office is expected to start in October.
The new mayoralty office will be built on a 2.3 hectares plot, and the other 2.4 hectares, where the Ade Irma monument is located, will be transformed into a forest. The new US$20.67 million office project is expected to be completed in 2001. (07)