Small businesses to have space at Satrio project

Small businesses to have space at Satrio project

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja guaranteed yesterday
that the city administration would ensure small-scale businesses
would be accommodated in the international tourism and shopping
belt on Jl. Satrio in Central Jakarta.

The Rp 10 trillion (US$3.7 billion) project along the 1.8-
kilometer street was expected to boost the city's image as a
shopping and tourism destination while not excluding small-scale
businesses such as street vendors, he said.

"Any plans, of course, have their own impacts but don't let
small problems affect a good plan," said Surjadi after opening a
one-day seminar on promoting Jakarta as a tourism and shopping
destination at the World Trade Center.

The governor said the administration fully supported the plan
as it would boost the city's development and provide
opportunities for private investors to expand their businesses.

It had prepared various regulations to facilitate the
project's construction, such as simplifying procedures for
investors to obtain permits.

"Private investors should not hesitate to take this
opportunity,"

The governor is scheduled to launch the project, covering an
area of 100 hectares, on Sunday along with the grand opening of
the Citra Regency Apartment.

Nine private investors have thus far committed themselves to
participating in the project, which was presented to the governor
in November last year.

The investors are Ciputra Group, Metropolitan Group, Sinar Mas
Group, PSP Group, Mega Kuningan, Bentala (Danamon) Group, Jan
Darmadi Corporation, HAKA and Asiatic Group.

Ciputra Group will build two shopping centers, one of which is
currently under construction, four hotels -- two of which are
already being built -- three office towers and an apartment
block, which has been completed.

Mega Kuningan is the other investor to have finished its
project, a diplomatic center that will house several embassies.

Once the Satrio project is completed, it will consist of five
shopping centers, 10 hotels, convention and exhibition centers,
restaurants, apartments, office buildings, indoor and outdoor
recreation centers, sidewalk cafes, information centers for local
and foreign tourists and art galleries. .

Ciputra Group president director Ciputra said the
project would not affect businesses at either Tanah Abang market
in Central Jakarta or the Mangga Dua shopping center in West
Jakarta.

"I'm sure those markets won't be affected by this project
because both are already widely known, even to buyers from
overseas," Ciputra said.

According to the plan, the main feature of the project will be
its friendly environment for pedestrians.

Mohammad Danisworo, the head of the city's architecture team,
said that once the project was completed, which was estimated at
between 10 and 20 years, pedestrians would be well-protected from
both the rain and the heat.

"All buildings have been advised to set up arcades at least
three meters wide for pedestrians, so they won't be affected by
the rain," said Danisworo, the chairman of the Bandung Institute
of Technology's Center for Urban Design Studies.

He said the sidewalks along the road would be 15.5 meters wide
with two rows of trees to act as canopies protect pedestrians
from unfriendly weather.

Danisworo said the Satrio project was a combination of
several world-renowned roads, such as Orchard Road in Singapore,
The Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain, the Champs-Ellysees in Paris,
France and The Bund in Shanghai, China.

"We hope that the commercial strip of Jl. Prof. Satrio will
also be a sociocultural center for people from all walks of
life," Danisworo said. (ste)