No more bartering on city properties
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)