Road project sorts out land dispute

Road project sorts out land dispute

JAKARTA (JP): Most residents of the Pesanggrahan subdistrict in South Jakarta have agreed to accept the compensation offered by the city administration for their land, which is needed for the construction a 13.1-kilometer toll road linking Jakarta and Serpong, Tangerang.

Deputy Chairman of the City Council's Commission A, which is in charge of government affairs, M.U. Fatommy Asaari, told reporters over the weekend, after being informed by officials of the city administration, that 70 percent of the 180 families in the subdistrict have agreed to accept Rp 275,000 (US$125) per square-meter.

Last January 45 people, who claimed to represent the 180 families, filed a complaint with the city administration over compensation for their land, which they considered too low.

They turned down compensation of Rp 165,000 to Rp 250,000 per square meter, set by the South Jakarta mayoralty.

They demanded the compensation be raised to Rp 800,000 per square-meter. The demand was made after seeing that residents in North Jakarta received compensation of Rp 640,000 per square- meter for a similar toll road project.

The construction of the road will be done in cooperation with PT Jasa Marga,

PT Bintaro Serpong Damai, a joint venture between PT Jaya Real Property (JRP) and PT Bumi Serpong Damai, will be in charge of the construction of the toll road.

PT Jasa Marga, the state owned company assigned to manage Indonesia's toll roads, will handle the land appropriation.

Ciputra, chief commissioner of PT JRP, said recently that the first stage of the project will be built with an investment commitment of Rp 170 billion (US$78 million). (yns)