Tanah Abang project to model itself on HK plan

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an effort to integrate Tanah Abang's new business district with its old market, Governor Sutiyoso ordered officials of city- run developer PD Pembangungan Sarana Jaya to compare their project with an existing one in Hong Kong.

"I told the officials to visit Hong Kong to learn about the similar project there, so that they can adopt it for the (Tanah Abang) plan," he said on Friday.

Sutiyoso wanted the project to accommodate a wholesale market, a trade center, office buildings, three-star hotels and low-cost apartments in a vast complex.

"Tanah Abang market has a high economic value. We want to rearrange the area in accordance with Jakarta's needs as a metropolitan city, away from the messy, congested market we have today," he said.

Famous as the largest textile market in Southeast Asia, Tanah Abang is also notorious for its poor and crowded access as well as its gangs of thugs.

The city's Rp 6 trillion (US$710 million) Sentra Primer Kota (urban primary center) project will convert a 12-hectare residential area, which is currently inhabited by 2,000 families in six community units, into a business complex stretching from the textile market to the railway station. The construction is expected to finish in five years.

Despite giving approval to the project, Sutiyoso emphasized there were still "some principal requirements" that needed to be fulfilled by the developer.

"They must offer parts of the project to the locals, whose plots of land or houses will be taken. The developer must also ensure these people earn a better livelihood in the new complex," he said.

PD Pembangunan Sarana Jaya president Tebyan A'maari said on Thursday his company would compensate the residents for their land and buildings by giving them property shares in the project.

"However, we have not decided on the technicalities of how to assess their asset value," he said.

Although some investors have submitted development proposals, Sutiyoso has asked the developer to "look for other strategic partners".

The project, which was first introduced in 1998, has been delayed due to strong opposition from locals and experts, who have said it would hurt the mostly small and medium-sized businesses in the area.

The city administration is currently renovating Tanah Abang's block A, which was destroyed in a fire on Feb. 19, 2003, transforming it into a luxury shopping mall. The Rp 400 million renovation will have 16 floors above ground and three below and is scheduled to finish next year.