Work starts on Koridor Satrio project

JAKARTA (JP): Construction of a massive Rp 10 trillion ($3.7 billion) project began yesterday to convert Jl. Prof. Satrio in Central Jakarta into a pedestrian-friendly street lined with hotels and shopping malls.

"When we complete this project, Jakarta will have a sidewalk and shopping area like Orchard Road in Singapore," Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said when launching the Koridor Satrio project at the city hall.

The goal of the project is to turn some 1.8 kilometers of the main road into an environmentally friendly shopping area.

The project's chief architect however looked beyond Singapore's famous Orchard Road in designing the project.

Muhammad Danisworo, head of the city architecture team, said the design combined the experience of Orchard Road, the Ramblas in Barcelona, Champs-Elysee in Paris, and the Bund in Shanghai.

"Based on this combination, Jl. Satrio will be filled with sidewalk cafes, tourist and information centers and art displays," he said.

The project, which will take between 10 and 20 years to complete, will come with shopping centers, hotels, convention and exhibition centers, restaurants, apartments, office buildings, and indoor and outdoor recreation centers.

Danisworo said pedestrian facilities were the main feature of Koridor Satrio. "All buildings should have arcades of at least three meters wide for pedestrians, so that even when it rains their activities can continue."

The sidewalks should be at least 5.5 meters wide and will have two rows of trees to form canopies to protect pedestrians from the heat, he added.

Nine private investors have expressed interest in joining the project.

One of them, Ciputra Group, had been asked to build and manage at least five of the 10 hotels expected in the vicinity.

The other eight investors are Danamon, Mega Kuningan, Jan Darmadi Corporation, Duta Pertiwi, Putra Surya Perkasa (PSP), Jakarta Land, Hatmohaji and Partners (HAKA), and Asiatic.

The first project to start is the development of the US$488 million, 5.4-hectare Ciputra Mal project. (07)