Pasar Jaya to rebuild Kenari market soon

JAKARTA (JP): The city-owned market company, PD Pasar Jaya, will start rebuilding the Kenari electronics market early next month in cooperation with a private company.

On July 12, a fire destroyed at least 100 kiosks of the electronics market on Jl. Kenari in Central Jakarta, causing billions of rupiah in losses.

The company's spokesman, Lihardin Sipayung, said yesterday Pasar Jaya and a private firm, PT Bina Citra Tata Swasta, hope the construction of the four-story electronics market will be completed next year.

"We provide the land and the private company provides the funds," Lihardin told The Jakarta Post.

He refused to reveal the cost of the construction.

There were 452 kiosks owned by 377 small-scale traders at the original Kenari market. The traders were reluctant to move to a new building next to the market due to high rental fees. The building is owned by a private company.

Lihardin said PD Pasar Jaya will offer lower rental fees than those of the private company next door. He also said owners whose kiosks were destroyed in the fire will have priority in being allocated kiosks in the market.

"The old traders will get lower prices than new traders. But the rental fees for new traders will still be lower than the fees offered by the owner of the building next to the market," he said, adding that the rental fees have yet to be set.

He said the company also suffered after the fire because the traders stopped paying rent.

In the meantime, the company has built some 100 temporary kiosks for the traders.

The traders have agreed to the company's plan to renovate the market, he added.

PD Pasar Jaya, which currently manages 152 markets in the city, is trying to improve fire management by adding alarms, hydrants and wells, and training security guards to deal with safety measures during a fire, the spokesman added.

Other traditional markets will be renovated this year, he said.

A fire destroyed 11 shops in an old market on Monday on Jl. Jatinegara Timur, East Jakarta. No fatalities were reported.

The fire which started at 5 p.m and lasted an hour started in a chemical shop in the shopping complex. The East Jakarta fire brigade deployed 21 trucks to extinguish the fire. (jun)