Sutiyoso orders halt of PIK development
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso ordered the developer of the luxury housing complex Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) in North Jakarta on Tuesday to delay the extension of the complex until the new environmental analysis is completed.
"It (the development) should not discontinued until the analysis is complete," Governor Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall.
He said that the administration planned to summon the developer's owner, businessman Ciputra to discuss the order.
He earlier announced that the complex's 18-hole golf course would be demolished and replaced by a dam to reduce floods in the area.
The developer, PT Mandara Permai, is reportedly developing a 330-hectare plot of land as an extension to the housing complex. The private firm has developed 830 hectares in the area since 1989 after being granted a concession from the city for the 1,160 hectares of what was once a lush mangrove forest.
According to data from the City Agriculture and Forestry Agency, the 1,160 hectares, which earlier belonged to the Forestry Ministry, was exchanged with land in several locations, mostly in West Java.
The data showed that the developer swapped it with a 1,190- hectare site in Citarum, Cianjur, a 75-hectare plot in Rumpin, Bogor and a 350-hectare piece of land in Nagrak, Sukabumi.
The developer also handed over an 18.4-hectare site in West Penjaliran island and a 19-hectare site in East Penjaliran island in the Thousand Islands, north of Jakarta.
Many observers as well as Sutiyoso questioned the exchange deal, especially as the land in Jakarta was exchanged with those outside of Jakarta.
"I don't know how it could have been done. But as a result, now I receive criticism," Sutiyoso said, blaming the previous city administration.
Many also believed that the PIK housing complex, which was built in a catchment area and former mangrove forest, was one of the major contributors to the recent floods in the city, particularly the toll road which connects the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
According to the city's spatial plan, which was created in 1985, the area was to be maintained as a green area. But the masterplan was revised in 1995 during former governor Wiyogo Admodarminto's administration.
Illegal deviations from the spatial plan involved not only PIK. Many other projects were also in violation during the economic boom of the 1990s, including the development of Plaza Senayan shopping center and the Hotel Mulia Senayan, Kelapa Gading housing complex in North Jakarta and a golf course in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
Several gasoline stations are also in violation as they were built in designated green areas as well. Some of those belong to high-ranking officials, including the husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Taufik Kiemas.