Street cafes get a spot in Kemayoran
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will allow street cafes to set up shop temporarily on a Central Jakarta site earmarked for development of the world's tallest tower.
Governor Sutiyoso said on Wednesday the decision was made because construction of Menara Jakarta in Kemayoran had been postponed indefinitely due to the monetary crisis. A large hole filled with water where excavations on the building's basement had begun is the only sign of construction.
"As we can't predict when the tower's construction work will resume, it's better to make use of it than leaving it as an idle plot," he told reporters after a meeting with representatives of the tower developer, PT Menara Jakarta, at City Hall.
The governor said it was decided during the meeting that construction of the tower would be conducted by the company in cooperation with the administration.
Although he expressed hope construction would begin again once the economy had recovered, Sutiyoso begged off on giving a firm date. "We are still waiting for the company's official letter and presentation on the project."
Construction on the 558-meter-high tower was officially started by then minister/state secretary Moerdiono in August last year.
Designated to occupy 40,550 square meters of land, it was set to cost US$560 million and be four-and-a-half meters higher than the world's tallest tower, the Toronto Tower.
PT Menara Jakarta is 51 percent owned by PT Indocitra Graha Bawana, a consortium led by former president Soeharto's cousin Sudwikatmono in cooperation with fellow tycoons Prayogo Pangestu and Henry Pribadi.
Forty percent of Menara's stake is shared by state-owned telecommunications companies PT Telkom and PT Indosat. The remainder belongs to a foundation run by the state television network TVRI.
Planned facilities include a revolving restaurant, multifunctional rooms for seminars and entertainment functions, broadcasting rooms and the Indonesian World Trade Center.
The basement will feature a U-shaped shopping center and parking lots.
The project was publicly announced by then minister of information Harmoko in August 1995.
The governor said on Wednesday the cafes would ring the water- filled hole, which would also be equipped with a stage.
"The plot is open for everyone," he added.
Utilizing the site for the eateries, currently hugely popular in the city, will provide benefits of job opportunities and prevent the land from becoming abandoned, Sutiyoso believed.
"It is also expected there will be income from the cafe owners which could later be used for maintenance funds for the area," he said. (ind)