Video: 8,400 tonne railway bridge moved into place overnight

DutchNews, May 7, 2016

Photo: Rijkswaterstaat

A massive operation to place 255 metre long railway bridge over the A1 motorway near Muiderberg has been completed three hours ahead of schedule, the transport ministry said on Saturday. 

The 8,400 tonne bridge had to be moved 400 metres from the location where it had been assembled to the correct site over the highway. The A1 was closed at 20.00 hours on Friday night to enable the work to take place and reopened at 09.00 on Saturday morning. 

The bridge was put in place by 03.00 but then had to be adjusted millimeter by millimeter to make sure everything joined up. 

Transport ministry spokesman Henk Voerman said the entire operation had proceeded smoothly. ‘It was really imposing to watch, particularly from close up when those enormous wheels began to move,’ he told RTL news. 

Work will now continue on the bridge and it will be opened in August when the old railway bridge will be demolished.

Time lapse of the entire operation

Massive power failure in Noord-Holland, Flevoland

DutchNews.nl, March 27, 2015

Large parts of Noord-Holland province and Flevoland are without power on Friday morning because of a major failure at a high tension substation in Diemen. 

Power cuts have hit parts of Amsterdam, Schiphol airport, Haarlem, Almere and the Gooi region near Hilversum. 

Train services have also been disrupted in the north of the country. According to the NS website, there are no train services around Schiphol airport or Amsterdam. 

Nu.nl reports all incoming flights to Schiphol have been diverted although there is no mention of this on the Schiphol website. Motorway signage has also failed. 

It is still unclear what caused the power failure or how many households are affected. 

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"2013 - What Now ?" – Jan 6, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

“… New ideas are things you never thought of. These ideas will be given to you so you will have answers to the most profound questions that your societies have had since you were born. Inventions will bring clean water to every Human on the planet, cheaply and everywhere. Inventions will give you power, cheaply and everywhere. These ideas will wipe out all of the reasons you now have for pollution, and when you look back on it, you'll go, "This solution was always there. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't we do this sooner?" Because it wasn't time and you were not ready. You hadn't planted the seeds and you were still battling the old energy, deciding whether you were going to terminate yourselves before 2012. Now you didn't…. and now you didn't.

it's funny, what you ponder about, and what your sociologists consider the "great current problems of mankind", for your new ideas will simply eliminate the very concepts of the questions just as they did in the past. Do you remember? Two hundred years ago, the predictions of sociologists said that you would run out of food, since there wasn't enough land to sustain a greater population. Then you discovered crop rotation and fertilizer. Suddenly, each plot of land could produce many times what it could before. Do you remember the predictions that you would run out of wood to heat your homes? Probably not. That was before electricity. It goes on and on.

So today's puzzles are just as quaint, as you will see. (1) How do you strengthen the power grids of your great nations so that they are not vulnerable to failure or don't require massive infrastructure improvement expenditures? Because cold is coming, and you are going to need more power. (2) What can you do about pollution? (3) What about world overpopulation? Some experts will tell you that a pandemic will be the answer; nature [Gaia] will kill off about one-third of the earth's population. The best minds of the century ponder these puzzles and tell you that you are headed for real problems. You have heard these things all your life.

Let me ask you this. (1) What if you could eliminate the power grid altogether? You can and will. (2) What if pollution-creating sources simply go away, due to new ideas and invention, and the environment starts to self-correct? (3) Overpopulation? You assume that humanity will continue to have children at an exponential rate since they are stupid and can't help themselves. This, dear ones, is a consciousness and education issue, and that is going to change. Imagine a zero growth attribute of many countries - something that will be common. Did you notice that some of your children today are actually starting to ponder if they should have any children at all? What a concept! ….”

Storm Chaos Reignites Calls for Relocation of the Capital

The Jakarta Post, Dessy Sagita & Arientha Primanita | March 18, 2011

A tree collapsed in front of National Police headquarter in South Jakarta
 on Wednesday. Extreme weather in the capital saw hail falling from the
 sky, trees uprooted, widespread surface flooding and damage to the
exclusive Senayan City in South Jakarta. (JG Photo/Farouk Arnaz) 

         

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The Jakarta administration is organizing compensation for vehicles and structures damaged by Wednesday’s freak weather, but frustrated Jakartans say more is needed: a capital relocation.

“Jakarta is under pressures it can no longer handle,” said Andrinof Chaniago, a public policy expert from the University of Indonesia, raising once again the debate of whether Indonesia needs to move its capital.

The sever weather on Wednesday afternoon quickly flooded roads throughout the capital, downed 42 trees and broke off branches from at least 100 more, damaging several cars and buildings in the process.

Catharina Suryowati, head of Jakarta’s Parks and Cemeteries Office , said the city would compensate the owners of each unit damaged by the trees with Rp 10 million ($1,140) each. “To claim it, the owners must give visual evidence in the form of photos, a police letter and the vehicle documents, while for buildings or houses, they must attach a letter from their neighborhood heads,” she said, adding that claims would be accepted for two months.

She acknowledged that more than 2,000 of the 70,000 trees in the city are at risk of collapse. “The trees are old, sick, rotten or tilting by more than 30 degrees. The trees’ trunks are prone to be broken,” she said.

Hari Sasongko Kushadi, head of the city’s Building Control and Monitoring Office, said owners of cars damaged by four collapsed billboards could also make claims with the city’s Tax Office against the sign owners.

Nirwono Joga, an urban planner from Trisakti University, said the city administration was always reactive to incidents like this, but rarely made attempts to prevent incidents. “It is not the trees’ faults but the planning of the trees planters,” he said.

But Andrinof said the problem was insufficient infrastructure and services creaking under the weight of a growing population.

Jakarta has become a magnet for people across the country because it is the center for both government and business. “It is now time to consider separating these two functions,” he said.

Intan Wibisono, a public relations consultant, agreed. “If the center of administration is relocated, development will spread to another part of the country and people wouldn’t flock to Jakarta,” she said. “It’s going to be a very big investment, and I know the transition period is going to be chaotic and painful, but it might pay off in the long run.”

The price of inaction, Andrinof said, was expensive for Jakartans who are forced to spend more for gas and medical costs. “Not to mention, wasting hours on the road makes people aggressive; Jakarta is full of angry, impatient people,” he said.

Emil Hartanto, an office worker who rides a motorbike from his house in Depok to his office in Pancoran, South Jakarta, every day, knows this all too well. “When you spend hours in the maze of traffic, your mood is ruined, you arrive in the office tired and grumpy, with not much energy left to stay productive,” he said.

The capital urgently needs to be relocated, Andrinof said. “There is no way to catch up, a breakthrough must happen,” he added.

Moving Indonesia's Capital ‘No Help to Jakarta’

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro | September 20, 2010

Jakarta. Not so fast. Any recent dreams of cruising along Jakarta boulevards swept clear by a relocation of the capital to Kalimantan will likely continue to be just that: dreams.

Moving Indonesia's capital from Jakarta would
have little impact on the city, experts say.

International experts in urban planning and policy say moving Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta would have little to no effect on the overcrowding and crushing traffic endured by its residents.

The idea has gained ground in recent weeks, and the government announced last month that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was seriously considering a plan to relocate the capital, with Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan and Jonggol in West Java as the two most likely sites. Officials said Yudhoyono’s plan, also floated by presidents Sukarno and Suharto, was motivated partly by a desire to even the disparity in the country’s regional development.

For many Jakartans, though, the big boon would be a freeing up of the crippling traffic, which moves at an excruciating eight kilometers per hour, on average, costing at least $1.4 billion a year in lost productivity. And it will only get worse. The Jakarta city administration has predicted total gridlock by 2012 without drastic action, as the population grows and car sales soar by about 15 percent annually.

But Kenneth Corey, a professor of urban and regional planning at Michigan State University, says moving the capital would be no help.

“I know of no evidence that documents conclusively that traffic congestion is reduced by relocating all or some capital functions out of a national capital,” Corey said. He conducted an extensive study of capital relocations and their implications for South Korea’s now-abandoned plan to totally relocate its capital.

Wendell Cox, an expert on urban policy and transportation issues with the consultancy Demographia, said residents of Greater Jakarta could look forward to ever-worsening gridlock regardless of where the capital was moved. Cox noted that Jakarta, as the nation’s commercial hub, would continue to experience explosive population growth in the coming decades, as well as surging sales of automobiles.

Cox said relocating Brazil’s capital from Rio de Janeiro, Pakistan’s from Karachi and Nigeria’s from Lagos did not prevent those cities from extending their sprawl. He said Rio’s population had tripled since the capital was moved to Brasilia in 1960, while that of Lagos, which ceded capital status to Abuja in 1991, is expected to grow to 15 million by 2025 from an estimated nine million now.

He said the population of Greater Jakarta, or Jabodetabek, which he estimated at 26 million people now, would grow to nearly 40 million by 2050, regardless of whether the capital was moved.

“Based upon the experiences of Abuja, Islamabad and Brasilia, I would be surprised if a new remote capital would reduce Jakarta’s future population by more than two million, and it could be substantially less than that. A megacity of 38 million would be just as unmanageable as one of 40 million,” he said. He estimated that the 40 million mark would be reached by 2030.

Cox stressed that ultimately, while relocating the capital might make Jakarta marginally less crowded and would have other benefits, the city was still destined to suffer gridlock without a massive investment in infrastructure.

“If a principal objective of the capital move is to reduce traffic congestion, then it would be far better to spend the money on the infrastructure needed to do that rather than taking the approach of moving the capital to reduce traffic congestion,” he said.

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Governor Fauzi not all that keen on fixing busted roads

Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 11/25/2009 2:13 PM

The old adage puts safety first, but Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo seems to think it can wait, as in the case of damaged roads.

The rainy season has traditionally been a time when motorists, and in particular motorcyclists, are warned to drive more carefully to avoid rainwater-deluged potholes.

But on Tuesday, Fauzi said his administration would not rush to repair them, adding it could wait until the advent of the dry season.

"We'll repair the damaged roads; we have the money for it," he said.

"However, we won't do it right away."

He said his administration had made its own assessments of the road conditions as well as traffic load for each road.

Fauzi also said should the administration insist on repairing the damaged roads during the rainy season, the work would be in vain.

Heavy rains coupled with increased loading only serve to hasten the damage, the governor pointed out.

However, Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) director Tulus Abadi disagreed.

"The administration can be penalized *if it fails to promptly repair damaged roads*," he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Tulus cited Article 273 of the 2009 Traffic Law, which stipulates five-year prison sentences or Rp 120 million fines for the responsible officials or institutions who fail to repair damaged roads.

Voicing similar concern, city councillor Nurmansjah Lubis said Jakarta residents could sue the administration over the poor roads.

"Filing a lawsuit is an important move as the damaged roads can lead to fatal accidents, especially to motorcyclists," Nurmansjah said.

Data from the Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center shows 20 people were killed in traffic accidents in the first three months of this year.

The TMC also notes at least 17 areas with damaged roads, including at the Jl. H. Nawi intersection near ITC Fatmawati, at the Senayan shooting range intersection in Central Jakarta, and on Jl. Simpruk Raya in West Jakarta.

Institute of Transportation Studies (Instran) director Darmaningtyas attributed the damaged roads to poor construction coupled with bad planning.

"The roads are easily damaged because they were poorly built," he pointed out.

"For instance, on a scale of one to 100 - where 100 means ideal materials mixing, asphalting and funding, what we have here is less than 50.

"*The contractors* often scale down the initial construction plan. So it's obvious why the results are far from satisfactory," Darmaningtyas added.

He said poor timing in carrying out the road repairs also played a part in the quality of the roads.

"Water is the main element in the asphalt," he said.

"But what we have here are constructors who mostly carry out the repairs during the rainy season."

The best time for road repairs in Jakarta is from May to October, during the dry season, he added.

To support a successful road renovation, Darmaningtyas said, the responsible agencies (including the public works agency) must reform its construction management.

Agency head Budi Widiantoro previously said the city had allocated a Rp 40 million budget for road maintenance for the first half of 2009, and another Rp 37 million for the second half.

"With this budget, we plan to revamp all the damaged roads this year," he said.

"However, if that's not possible, we'll continue the repairs based on the 2010 budget."

Action Needed Now to Avoid ‘Catastrophe’ in Jakarta

The Jakarta Globe, Emmy Fitri

Motorists stuck in traffic in Central Jakarta.
(Photo: Jurnasyanto Sukarno., JG)

Inextricable traffic jams, even on toll roads, barely breathable air, heavily contaminated water and dwindling open spaces — problems suffered daily by Jakarta residents — may seem intolerable now, but experts warn that it will only become worse unless concerted efforts are made to fix the mess that is Indonesia’s capital.

Urban planning expert Darundono sums up the current path Jakarta is on today in one word — “catastrophic.”

Each day, almost 10 million commuters spend hours on Jakarta’s roads. But transportation analyst Budi Santosa, from Trisakti University, says it has long been predicted, in several studies, that by 2014, traffic jams in the capital are likely to reach total gridlock as a result of the exponential increase in the number of vehicles plying an insufficient road network.

“A viable solution is to design a mass rapid transportation system to reduce the vehicle population. We cannot afford to build another inner-city toll road or more streets because we have run out of land for such massive construction,” Budi said, adding that so far there appear to be no breakthroughs visible on the horizon.

Jakarta, however, is not only running out of land for more roads. The capital is choking from the unfettered conversion of open spaces into concrete.

Darundono says that when he designed the Jakarta Spatial Plan for 1965-1985, the designated green areas accounted for between 26 percent and 28 percent of the city’s surface, but today they make up only about 10 percent.

“The government has been inconsistent in its implementation of its own plans. Parks, green spaces and public cemeteries are being turned into shopping malls and government offices,” he says.

The combined effect of the sheer number of vehicles out on the road each day and the lack of green open spaces that could offset their fumes has severely degraded the quality of the city’s environment.

According to the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), transportation causes 70 percent of Jakarta’s air pollution, and the city produces 13,000 tons of carbon dioxide daily.

As a result, on most days of the year — 347 out of 365 in 2006, to be exact — Jakartans are breathing in polluted air.

It is no wonder then, that a third of the capital’s residents suffer from some form of respiratory tract infection each month.

In fact, a World Resources Institute paper says respiratory tract infections account for 12.6 percent of mortality in Jakarta — more than twice the national average.

Admitting that the capital, home to as many as 12 million people, is mired in environmental problems, the acting head of the Jakarta Environment Management Board (BPLHD), Ridwan Panjaitan, says programs to address each and every issue are up and running, including the enforcement of emission tests and the smoking ban.

“But we cannot work by ourselves because some programs are closely related to other agencies like the health agency and the traffic police. That becomes our challenge, to synergize the programs with other agencies because unless we have a common understanding then we cannot work together,” he says.

Returning home at the end of the day, more than five million Jakartans will scarcely find rest and solace in their small, cramped houses in the capital’s rapidly expanding slum areas, where basic services such as water supply and sanitation are minimal, if they exist at all.

The government’s efforts to build thousands of low-cost apartments for the poor have so far been criticized as only adding to the problems, instead of being a solution.

“There will be massive groundwater use,” Darundono said.

Excessive groundwater extraction has long been flagged as a major problem in Jakarta, causing the land to sink by an average of 5 to 10 centimeters a year, according to a study by the World Bank.

The capital’s water supply operators have been unable to connect hundreds of thousands of households, particularly those in slum areas — where the thousands who migrate to Jakarta each year in search of work live.

With the confluence of these urban woes threatening the future of Indonesia’s capital, real solutions must be found soon.

On Nov. 10-12, international experts will converge on Jakarta to map out a sustainable path for the capital.

These solutions are urgently needed to avoid the catastrophe that Darundono says we are currently headed toward.

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PT KAI renovates historical Lawang Sewu building in Semarang

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang | Tue, 03/03/2009 5:53 PM  

State-owned railway company PT KAI of Semarang has renovated historical Lawang Sewu building and planned to create it as a ticket reservation centre and tourism object after being neglected for 25 years. 

Over the past one week, the company has deployed some workers to clean up and paint some rooms at the first and second floor of the building, which located in the Tugu Muda area. 

The company's spokesperson Warsono told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that his office was renovating only some main rooms at the first and second floors and targeting to finish them all this month. 

“We will also make the old building as a center for executive and business classes tickets reservation to make easier for residents thanks to the building strategic location as compared to Tawang station,” he said. 

To attract more visitors, he added, the company would provide the building with antique locomotive made in 1908 from Germany. 

The Lawang Sewu building was built on Feb. 17, 1904 and was the headquarter of Nederlandsch Indische Spoorweg Maatschapij or the Dutch Indies Rail Company. (ewd)

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City considers adding new bus shelter in Old Town area

Agnes Winarti,  The Jakarta Post,  Jakarta | Thu, 02/19/2009 2:12 PM  

The administration is currently mulling over a plan to establish an additional Transjakarta bus shelter in the Old Town part of West Jakarta, as part of efforts to order chaotic traffic in the area. 

"We will review the newly proposed plan within a month," head of road traffic division at the city transportation agency, M. Akbar, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. 

A new Transjakarta shelter on Jl. Kunir, located in the northern part of Fatahillah Square, was proposed recently during a meeting of the coordinating team for the revitalization of Old Town area. 

The team includes officials from the city transportation agency, public works agency, district and subdistrict offices, parking unit, city cultural and tourism agency's Old Town unit, and Old Town building owners association. 

Head of the Old Town unit at the cultural and tourism agency, Candrian Attahiyat said, "The shelter would ease the flow of visitors going to the heritage area, so motorists wouldn't be caught in traffic jams." 

The plan will add another 600-meter lane, connecting the Kota shelter to the new shelter on Jl. Kunir. It will help people traveling north, south, east and west around the 840-hectare heritage site in West and North Jakarta. 

"First, we need to reduce the traffic volume in the area, which is more of a transition area for those going to Pluit and Bandengan," Akbar said. 

Under the traffic volume reduction plan, he said, the city would erect traffic signs prohibiting motorists on certain streets. 

Ella Ubaidi, from the Old Town building owners association, said the traffic solution should be integrated with the Old Town master plan. 

She said the traffic problem in Old Town was not only because of vehicle flow on the streets, but also because of motorists misusing sidewalks, which contradicted the administration's plan to turn the area into a pedestrian site. 

"It is too early to decide whether we need more busway shelters," Ella said. "We do not mind having a new shelter close to the heritage area."

Pasar Minggu, Mayestik next markets in queue for face-lift

Triwik Kurniasari, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Sat, 01/17/2009 2:06 PM 

 

City-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya plans to revamp Pasar Minggu and Mayestik market, both in South Jakarta, into two modern, integrated areas.

 

Pasar Jaya spokesman Nur Haviz said the operator would integrate the shopping center with office buildings, bus terminal and train station in the Pasar Minggu area.

 

“Basically, we want to reduce traffic snarls in the area. The traffic is chaotic because there is no proper bus terminal there,” Haviz told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

 

“The condition gets worse because many people cross the busy street instead of taking the pedestrian overpass,” he said, adding that Pasar Minggu had potential because it connected Jakarta with Depok, south of the capital.

 

Pasar Minggu, which used to be famous for its fruit market, will have a new building design, he said.

 

“We will erect some lanes and pedestrian overpasses connecting Pasar Minggu train station with the shopping center and bus terminal.

 

“We will cooperate with some institutions, like the city transportation agency and railway operator PT Kereta Api,” he said.    

 

“There’s also a possibility that we will establish the bus terminal below or above the shopping center. It will be like the Blok M area [South Jakarta],” Haviz said.

 

Besides Pasar Minggu market, Pasar Jaya plans to rejuvenate Mayestik market in the near future. 

 

Famous for fabric, tailors and beads, Mayestik market, which was established in 1956, was previously known for its medicine shops. When the updated Mayestik market was opened in 1981, garment vendors began to dominate the 6,500-square-meter market.

 

The market will be renovated into a four-story building, with a parking lot at the top and in the basement.

 

“Hopefully, the parking lot will be big enough to accommodate visitors’ vehicles, solving the on-road parking problems,” Haviz said. 

 

“Vendors will be [temporarily] relocated to Jl. Tebah 1-3 and Jl. Taman Tebah [all in South Jakarta],”  he said.

 

The face-lifts are part of Pasar Jaya’s program to redevelop markets throughout the city.

It is now drafting revisions of regional bylaws on market management to allow for more facilities.

 

Earlier, Pasar Jaya head Uthand H. Sitorus said the revisions of a 1992 bylaw on market management and a 1999 bylaw on Pasar Jaya would give the operator greater opportunity to develop markets.

 

According to the current bylaws, it only has the authority to build and operate markets.

If the City Council approves the revisions, Uthand said, Pasar Jaya could build other facilities, such as offices and apartments, above the traditional markets.

 

Pasar Jaya has sought to turn its traditional markets into cleaner, modern markets.

Conflict has arisen between the operator and vendors over the renovation plans of markets throughout the city, with vendors saying the new designs disadvantage them and that the post-renovation rents are too high.

Isolated Maluku regency seeks to pave its way to wealth

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

East Seram, a four-year-old regency in Maluku, is developing land and sea transportation with the aim of escaping isolation, jump starting development and addressing widespread poverty.

Over the past four years, almost 80 percent of a 528-kilometer highway traversing Seram Island has been finished and the rest is slated for completion within the fiscal year.

"The regency's economy is maturing as subdistricts and villages are becoming connected and more farmland in the regency is under irrigation. More people travel to the provincial capital in Ambon and to other provinces now. And more traders are reaching the locals (in remote areas)," East Seram regent Abdullah Vanath told The Jakarta Post.

Asked why his administration had prioritized infrastructure development, Abdullah said without better infrastructure it wasn't possible to combat poverty.

When it was created, pursuant to the regional autonomy law in 2004, the regency had a total of 3.5 kilometers of asphalted road.

Even today the vast majority of population lives in poverty.

"Like other people, my family was also poor.

"Few people went beyond elementary school because you have to move to Ambon if you want to go high school or university," said Abdullah, citing a 2007 survey which found 78 percent of the population of 17,000 was living below the poverty line.

"My great desire is to complete the ongoing development of the infrastructure before my term ends in 2009 so that by 2010 the regency can start catching up with other regencies in Maluku and other provinces in the eastern part of the country."

Abdullah said, despite the high poverty rate in the regency, he was optimistic the main social problems would gradually be solved.

"Following the development of infrastructure and other facilities such as hotels and ports, investors will come to help explore the rich natural resources and people will seek better livelihoods, send their children to school and live modern lives."

The regency has considerable economic potential due to an abundance of natural resources such as timber, oil and gas. However, geographic isolation from international markets prevents exploitation.

Besides the geographical disadvantages, unpredictable climate conditions hinder farming and fishing.

Inadequate rainfall frequently limits harvests to one a year while stormy seas keep fishing boats from going to sea for long periods.

Sea passage to East Seram can be as difficult as the route overland.

Weeks may go by without the arrival of a cargo or passenger boat -- or even months during periods of bad weather.

Abdullah said that government as well as the people had to work harder to improve life in such a rugged, isolated place. However, he said, progress was just a matter of time.

The formation of the regency was hardly noticed by investors because of the absence of modern infrastructure. Meanwhile, construction materials and the most basic commodities can be extremely expensive due to transportation premiums.

Abdullah, who previously held a senior position in the Maluku provincial government, acknowledged that mismanagement had also affected development. He said a certain part of the development budget had "leaked out" due to weak oversight and law enforcement.

"Several local officials, including the chief of the local public works ministry office, have been declared suspects in a road construction graft case and they will be prosecuted in accordance with the law. Law enforcement is a must if we want to create good governance."

Mimika struggling to empower locals

Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika

With its vast gold and mining resources, the world may look at Mimika regency in Papua as rich, but the indigenous people who live there don't see it that way.

Outside of the infrastructure supporting the operations of PT Freeport Indonesia's massive mining operation and development concentrated in Mimika Baru district and Timika City, little progress of any sort can be seen in the regency, home to some of Papua's least rich.

They live in huts made of palm fronds, have no paved roads or public transport and schools are small and far between, not to mention the dearth of health facilities.

The indigenous Amungme and Kamoro people from mountain villages and other remote areas of the regency are among the poorest. They have no jobs. They eke out a subsistence living scavenging for gold among PT Freeport Indonesia tailings.

Mimika regent Atanasius Allo Rafra said in order to improve conditions throughout the regency the administration had allocated funds from the 2008 regional budget so that each of the regency's 80 villages would receive Rp 100 million (US$11,100) for infrastructure development.

Besides the administration, help is coming from the People Empowerment Institute, working to assist the Kamoro and Amungme tribes who live in 67 undeveloped villages in Mimika.

The organization's executive secretary, John Nakiaya, said each of the 67 villages would get another Rp 100 million from the organization. The organization has already handed over the funds to the Mimika regental administration for disbursement.

"The Mimika administration will distribute the funds to all 67 villages over the region. We hope that all villages can apply the funds properly in order to gain a better life," Nakiaya said.

Nakiaya added that all Amungme and Kamoro villages were poor. "That's why we are only concerned with helping those villages, where those two tribes live. We hope that Papua's indigenous tribes will be able to survive," he said.

Regent Rafra added that the regental administration had also allocated funds from its 2008 budget to buy a plane and a ferry for public transportation in Papua, especially Mimika. The two vehicles will arrive in March.

"By providing public transportation, we hope that residents here, especially those who live in remote areas, can find easier ways to travel."

Despite infrastructure, CBD still good property investment

The Jakarta Post

Andhika Suryadharma, Analys,

For the average Indonesian, prices of land in the Jakarta CBD already seem sky-high. However, they are relatively cheap compared to other CBDs in the region, and there is potential yet to be unleashed.

We are at the start of 2008, a year most market analysts regard as likely to be a turbulent one. With a slow-down in the world's major economies forthcoming, emerging markets may become a safe haven. So why not invest in emerging market property?

To get a feel for the land situation in Jakarta from an international perspective, consider property prices in the CBDs of other major Asian cities.

According to the latest Asian property report from Jones Lang LaSalle, Tokyo's CBD holds the most expensive price per square meter among Asian countries, going for as much as US$34,000 (approximately Rp 310 million) per square meter.

Among cities in developing countries, the report puts the price of CBD land in Chengdu at $1,380, Delhi at $7,426, Bangkok at $2,513 and Makati City at $1,655.

Where does Jakarta fit in? Jakarta CBD is the cheapest of them all, at $1,340 (approximately Rp 12 million) per square meter.

Last year, the CBD in Jakarta experienced only a 3.1 percent year-on-year increase in prices, below Bangkok, which experienced a 3.5 percent gain, Delhi (72 percent) and Makati City (19 percent).

It is interesting to note that land in the CBDs of the latter two cities has a higher capital value than land in Jakarta, while Indonesia ranks higher than both the Philippines and India in GDP per capita (based on recent ADB data). This raises some questions about what factors determine the property value of CBDs.

Location, certainly, is among the main factors. The closer an area is to the center of day-to-day activity, the more expensive it becomes. However, that alone does not determine the price of capital value.

There are also factors such as supporting facilities, which involve accessibility to the CBD area. Examples are the CBD areas in Singapore and Hong Kong; one reason those areas are among the most expensive in the world today is the transportation facilities they offer.

You can easily reach the CBD in both cities using a variety of transportation modes, including Mass Rapid Transportation, buses, taxis, and even by bicycle or on foot. It is comfortable to get to your office by foot in Hong Kong, and it is also safe.

Another factor is tenants. Most of the high-ranking CBD areas are filled with major financial institutions and multinational companies. In Hong Kong, for example, major banks and brokerages line the Hong Kong area where the stock exchange resides. The more exclusive the area becomes, the higher the value of the land.

So what is the Jakarta CBD lacking? The tenants here are prestigious enough; it's the facilities that fall short. In terms of transportation, the busway is a good start but obviously it's not enough; a city railway system is also needed to build a transportation system accessible to everyone, in which safety for commuters is a priority.

Apart from that, there are also risks in obtaining land. Besides the difficulties in land clearance, the licensing of land ownership has been an issue, given the many reported cases in which more than one certificate is issued for a single piece of land. Hence there is the need to reduce regulatory uncertainty in order to make investments in CBD property less risky.

So, all in all, is land in Jakarta a good investment? We would say yes. Obviously a lot needs to be done, and this will need time. Transportation facilities should be upgraded, clogged traffic should be relieved and land ownership uncertainties should be minimized.

But land here is still cheap relative to the region, and with economic growth at above 6 percent and reforms underway, Jakarta should eventually catch up with other Asian cities in terms of capital values.

The writer is an equity analyst at PT Bahana Securities.

Reinventing the garden house

The Jakarta Post

During the property boom and development of satellite cities on the outskirts of Jakarta during the 80s and 90s, there was a huge market demand for garden houses and country-style houses in the real estate industry.

Parallel with aggressive planning of new highways and toll roads, people would go further away from the city center in pursuance of their dream (and affordable) homes. The mindset was: the further you are away from the city, the bigger the lawn you can afford.

However, the economic crisis played a role in taking away those dreams. Road network development could not keep up with the vast property development. Traffic congestion killed the enjoyment of having the garden houses. For people earning their living in the city center, they could waste a third to a quarter of their day stuck in the traffic.

Today, living in close proximity to the city center is much more desirable for a lot of people. They are willing to live on a much smaller urban lot.

Generally, the concept of the garden house simply meant having a huge lawn in the backyard without exploring the relationship between indoor and outdoor space. Conceptually, the house was more introvert and separated from the exterior.

Some architects offered interesting modern approaches in re-inventing the garden house concept for urban application.

Adi Purnomo blurred the boundary between the house and landscape in his works in Ciganjur and Jl. Tangkuban Perahu, Jakarta. Both houses elaborately exercise the relationship of interior and exterior spaces.

The Ciganjur house reversed the concept "house in the garden" to "garden in the house" by converting the whole lot into a single house experience. It is a modern interpretation of the compound house concept in Balinese architecture where the rooms are not contained in a single building but distributed throughout the lot. The house itself employs a simple house form with minimal decoration. Outdoor spaces become the interior of the house, where lush softscape is the main decoration element. Living rooms also serve as terraces to maximize enjoyment of the landscape.

The house at Jl. Tangkuban Perahu took a different direction. While the house maintains the image of a single house, it also integrates the landscape in an unprecedented way. Not only the garden is stacked and interwoven with the house, but also became the fa‡ade. The vertical gardens create the sense of privacy while allowing the house to breathe. The main stairway has a dual function that performs as seating for any social event. This intimate relationship between the landscape and the house provides good natural cross ventilation and day lighting. It also increases the water retention ability of the house, so it dramatically reduces excess water out to the surrounding neighborhood.

Essentially, in designing a dwelling, aesthetic consideration is becoming less important. The interrelationship between spaces and its contribution to the environment are more valuable. Although both of these houses are definitely not bug-free, but the experience of tropical living is maximized.

Zenin Adrian can be reached at zenin.adrian@zadl.net

Entering the epicenter

The Jakarta Post

At this moment, Rasuna Epicentrum is probably one of the most ambitious superblock developments in Jakarta, on a parallel with other mixed-use areas like the Sudirman Central Business District and Mega Kuningan. I consider the mixed-use development concept to be the most appropriate for living in the city center.

The concept abandons the ancient zoning separations of commercial and residential, which play a major role in generating vehicle traffic. Some urban planners believe that the mixed-use concept can help reduce our carbon footprint.

In order to succeed, the complex should generate more pedestrian traffic because of the close proximity between living spaces and workplaces, rather than motorized vehicle traffic to avoid congestion. A mass transportation hub should be connected with the pedestrian network of the complex.

Designed by Urbane, a Bandung-based architectural design office, the entrance gate of the Rasuna Epicentrum complex takes a whole different approach to traditional gate design, emphasizing accessibility and the resurfacing of the landscape.

The resurfacing strategy, which involves applying different paving materials for various purposes, has two important tasks: to slow down motorized traffic and to create a more pleasant sidewalk. Rough paving stones are used to reduce the speed of the motorists. The sidewalk is paved with a similar but finer texture to the road and leveled with the road rather than being raised, so it appears there is only slight difference between the road and the sidewalk. In my opinion, this gesture is a part of the effort of converting the gate area to a square-like place that is more pedestrian friendly.

However, some minor details have to come to my attention. The area is also paved with crisscrossing lines which have no meaning when viewed from the street level. We can only see and understand how those lines are interconnected with one another when we view them from above.

Those lines are set in a highly complex and illogical pattern, and consequently it is obvious that some of the construction workers are still struggling to finish laying it out.

I wish that the pattern was not excessively decorative and that it did not discard its functional values. The pattern could have been used to define pathways for pedestrians and motorists.

In most cities in Japan, pedestrian markings with extruded surface textures are used to increase accessibility by creating paths for the blind. At Rasuna Epicentrum, if a blind person tried to follow the interweaving path, he or she would bump into a light pole or end up in the middle of the street.

I must commend Rasuna Epicentrum's efforts in their approach for improving pedestrian environment in the area. I have been enjoying that short stretch of the road, and hopefully the effort will continue into the whole new complex and become a prototype for similar development in other areas. The entrance gate also represents how improving public amenities can be accomplished through collaboration with the private sector.

Zenin Adrian can be reached at zenin.adrian@zadl.net