Jakarta to punish reckless ad firms

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The property management and control agency is set to hand down punishment to two companies for their negligence in constructing two billboards recently felled by strong winds.

Agency head Hari Sasongko said Saturday the agency had determined negligence in the billboards' construction, based on its findings and reports from the companies.

"They have violated a governor decree. We'll freeze their working licenses for a year," he said.

"We're still preparing documents declaring their punishment, which they will know within a month."

On Nov. 14, a billboard fell on a taxi in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, injuring the driver and two passengers, and another fell on top of an internet cafe and telecommunication kiosk in Setiabudi, South Jakarta.

One fallen billboard near the Grand Indonesia traffic circle disrupted traffic.

Hari said the agency was carrying out legal proceedings only against the two companies who built the billboards in Kebayoran Baru and Setiabudi, exempting the one responsible for the fallen billboard near the Grand Indonesia traffic circle.

"The ... billboard near the Grand Indonesia traffic circle is out of our territory," he said.

"A government regulation allows billboard construction companies to place their temporary ads for a few weeks without being required to ask for an agency-issued license," he said.

The agency has issued 700 business licenses for construction companies since 2002, 400 of which were extended.

Construction companies buy licenses from the agency to erect outdoor advertisement structures in Jakarta and sell the space to advertising companies.

Following the November accidents, the agency planned to revise requirements for building billboards.

In the future, a billboard must be able to withstand winds of 75 to 100 kilometers per hour, higher than old requirement of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour.

Hari said the agency would issue a decree for the future benchmark.

"An advisory team that works for the agency to oversee property structures will hopefully finish drafting the decree within a month," he said.

The agency also planned to require construction companies to replace their single-pole billboards with double-pole billboards to make them stronger.

However, Hari said the plan would likely take months of deliberation among the agency and other stakeholders, including the city spatial planning agency and the city revenue agency.

"We need to find a way to strictly implement safety standards, as well as keep the city's revenue from ads from decreasing," he said.