Officials asked to take good care of their new office

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja urged North Jakarta mayoralty officials to take good care of their new 14-story home.

During the inauguration of the new North Jakarta mayoralty building last week, the governor said that the city is trying to improve all of the mayoralty offices.

But, Surjadi said, "a big and luxurious building does not mean anything if the service is still poor."

He urged all officials to improve their work standards and service to the public.

"And please keep the building as clean as it is today," he said.

The building represents the first phase of a 3.5-hectare complex being built in six phases.

Construction on the 14-story building began 1993 and was finished last week at a cost of Rp 40.2 billion (US$17.47 million).

The second phase is construction of offices and a mosque for the mayoralty's agencies. Building will start in the 1996/1997 fiscal year and is expected to be completed in the 1997/1998 fiscal year. The last phase, a six-story parking building and multi-purpose building, is expected to be completed in 2000.

Surjadi said that eventually all mayoralty offices in Jakarta will follow the high-rise model to make a more efficient use of land.

If all mayoralty offices are high-rise buildings, the city could have more green areas, he said.

"For the next phase we are going to build the West Jakarta mayoralty office in Kembangan, West Jakarta. The condition of the current office is no longer appropriate," he said.

The current office across from the Grogol terminal is always inundated by water when it rains.

Meanwhile, Mayor Suprawito of North Jakarta said the new building is expected to be a landmark in North Jakarta.

The mayoralty has discussed plans of opening a restaurant on the top floor of its new building to attract visitors and generate extra revenues, he said. (yns)