Residents and PT Pelindo to meet on Koja land row
JAKARTA (JP): Representatives from the North Koja district will have their first face-to-face discussion with directors of the state-owned port company, PT Pelindo, to iron out the planned acquisition of residential land for a new cargo terminal.
"I met with the director general for state-owned company affairs and he suggested the two sides meet directly," said Yoyok Sukarya, a representative of the North Koja residents.
Yoyok told The Jakarta Post that before his meeting at the Finance Ministry building yesterday, director general Martiono Hadianto had earlier met with directors of PT Pelindo who consented to the planned bilateral meeting.
Martiono met with them between eight to 12 o'clock and he met me after that, Yoyok said.
When asked when the two sides would meet, Yoyok said he couldn't determine the day but was sure he would meet the president of PT Pelindo II, Amir Arbani, this week.
"It will probably be within the next couple of days," he indicated.
The North Koja district, located adjacent to the Tanjung Priok container terminal, has been earmarked as a new cargo terminal extension.
However, over 9,000 families comprised of nearly 40,000 people in a 91-hectare area of land will have to be moved before the construction work begins.
In general residents seem willing to let go of their land, however they object to the compensation being offered.
North Jakarta Mayor H. Suprawito, who is also the head of the North Koja land appropriation committee, has offered a payment of Rp 160,000 (US$74) per square meter to the land owners on behalf of PT Pelindo.
The offer was quickly rejected by residents, who demanded a whopping Rp 2.27 million ($1,049.4) per square meter.
The dispute has continued since late last year and most of the residents still refused the compensation agreement.
"So far only 27 percent of the residents have accepted the government's offer," Yoyok revealed, adding that the rest have resisted.
Rates
Speaking on the compensation rate offered, Yoyok corrected a widely assumed fallacy that all the residents would receive the same amount.
"No that's wrong, not everyone will get Rp 160,000 per square meter. Most of them will only get about Rp 100,000," he remarked.
Apparently only those lodgings located on the main roads such as Jl. Digul, Pantai Laut, Jember and Donggala, will receive the Rp 160,000 offer, while residences on smaller streets and alleys get a mere Rp 100,000.
About 70 percent of North Koja residents live in small streets and alleyways.
So far both sides remain adamant in maintaining their respective prices and none seem willing to acquiesce soon.
"There haven't been any developments so far," said another resident, Soesantomo, in frustration.
Many residents have expressed their disappointment that the government did not consult land owners before determining the price set for the land.
According to Yoyok, even the residents' demands for Rp 2.27 million per square meter was not a fixed figure but more of a benchmark figure based on a more realistic price.
He said that the compensation price should be based on a combination of the market price and the amount stated in the value of taxable property (NJOP).(mds)