Skyscrapers to have green space

JAKARTA (JP): All new high rise buildings will have to have green space, the Deputy Governor for Economic and Development Affairs said yesterday.

Tb. M. Rais said he hoped this city rule would be in place this year.

"This is to compensate the loss of green space on the ground," Rais said after launching the construction of the Graha Niaga 2 building in South Jakarta.

Green space on a high rise building could be a roof garden "which experts say can reduce temperatures," Rais said.

The amount of green space would depend on the size of the building grounds, he said.

Mohamad S. Hidayat, the president director of Grahaniaga Tatautama which owns the Niaga 2 project, said the new 39-story building would have a roof garden like Graha Niaga 1.

Although providing green space might add to building costs, environmental considerations would add to buildings' value in the long run, Rais said.

He said he hoped high rise buildings would feature local characteristics even if foreign architects were involved.

Office space in the new building at no. 58 Jl. Jend. Sudirman, which will have 63,000 square meters of floor space, is for sale on a strata title basis.

Hidayat said 65 percent of the space had been sold. Several buyers have taken more than one floor, including Bank Bumiputra.

Hidayat said the space was sold for up to US$2,500 per square meter. The project is expected to be completed in two years.

Hidayat said it had spent US$36 million on land for the project. A syndicate led by the Singapore-based American Express Bank provided a $105 million loan.

Grahaniaga Tatautama shareholders includes Robby Djohan, who owns Bank Niaga which is housed in Graha Niaga 1, and Arifin Panigoro, owner of an oil company, PT Meta Epsi Duta Corporation.

The ceremony was attended by State Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung and chairman of the Association of Indonesian Developers Edwin Kawilarang. (anr)