Bekasi, Tangerang get ‘rusunami’

The Jakarta Post, BEKASI, TANGERANG | Thu, 02/12/2009 12:00 PM  

State-owned housing company Perumnas has started building four towers of subsidized, low-cost apartments (rusunami) in Bekasi, the company’s director said Wednesday. 

Center Point Apartment will occupy 1.4 hectares of land near the Jakarta-Cikampek tollgate, said Perumnas marketing director Tedy Robinson.

“We expect to complete construction of the first tower by the end of this year,” Tedy said, as quoted by Antara news agency. 

Each of the four towers will comprise 16 levels with 870 units of type-22 and type-36 apartments, which will be sold at Rp 88 million and Rp 144 million, respectively. 

Even though the apartments will be sold at low prices, he said, Perumnas would provide facilities similar to high-class apartments.

“We will build a swimming pool, hospital, shopping center and playgrounds, as well as a café and restaurant in the area.”     

He said the strategic location of Center Point Apartment had attracted many customers, with 80 percent of the units to be constructed in phase one already sold.

The apartments are located across from Bekasi Mitra Keluarga Hospital and next to the Islamic Center building and Pondok Gede boarding house for pilgrims, he said.

Tedy said the Bekasi administration supported the construction by issuing a building permit.

A Tangerang official said the administration supported the government’s program to build subsidized, low-cost apartments by building two towers in the region.

The construction of the two towers, located in Cireundeu Ciputat Timur in South Tangerang, is pressing ahead, said Muhammad Hidayat, the head of the Integrated Agency of Service and Licensing (BP2T).  

Hidayat said the Tangerang administration issued a permit on the construction and another permit on spatial planning for the two towers.

“In building the apartments, we have complied with the regulation on water reservoir areas,” he said.    

He said that the construction was responsible so long as it complied with of the analysis of environmental impact (Amdal).

The development of low-cost apartments in Bekasi and Tangerang are part of the central government’s plan to construct 1,000 towers, or 600,000 units, of subsidized apartments nationwide within the next four to five years.

The apartments are sold at a maximum price of Rp 144 million per unit to people earning less than Rp 4.5 million per month.

Half of the towers will be built in Greater Jakarta, 30 percent in cities throughout Java and the remaining 20 percent in urban areas outside Java.

The Public Housing Ministry has estimated that Jakarta will be home to around 51,000 subsidized apartment units by the end of this year.

To encourage more developers to take part in the projects, the government has offered incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies.

Budget hotels may buck property trend

Benget Besalicto Tnb. , THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Thu, 02/12/2009 11:24 AM  

Slowing up: Three towers are under construction in Central Jakarta. Weaker demand and high interest rates are slowing down growth in the property sector this year, delaying start-up dates for planned building sites. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

Contrary to the slowing growth of the property industry as a whole, the budget hotels market is predicted to increase by 30 percent this year. 

That is because travellers will turn from the up market hotels to the mid market ones to cut costs during the economic crisis, said Djodi Trisusanto, a property analyst, who specializes in the hotel sector, with Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels. 

He said Wednesday that there have been a number of hotel groups starting to catch up with the rising demand for budget hotels.

“The Holiday Inn, for example, has set up Holiday Inn Express. Even the budget aircraft operator Air Asia has turned to the rising market by establishing the Tune Hotel in Malaysia. A number of Indonesian hotel groups have also set up  budget hotels.

“Among them, is Formula One. The other one is the Santika Hotel Group, which will set up Amaris hotels in several towns of Indonesia,” said Djodi, who is also the vice president of Jones Lang Lasalle.

He said that Air Asia and the Santika Hotel group will also join together to build budget hotels in Bali. 

“Both of them have bought landsites for hotel construction in Bali,” he noted.

According to him, the economic crisis has forced companies to cut their costs, including their traveling costs, causing them to turn to two or three star hotels instead of five star hotels as they did previously.

“During the last few months the five star hotels have seen their occupancy rate dropping by around 15 percent. 

“As the global economic crisis starts to bite into the Indonesian economy, I expect (these rates) to decrease significantly this year,’ he said on the sideline of a media briefing on the 2009 property outlook.

Despite the economic crisis, the companies will still need to travel for their businesses. But they will do so using two or three star hotels instead of five star hotels. 

“It happens not only in Indonesia. It’s been growing in China, countries of Europe, and America,” he noted.

“Frequency of business traveling will not be affected significantly as firms still need it for their businesses. But they will use budget hotels instead of luxury ones. Some flight companies have even increased the frequencies of flight schedules. Cathay Pacific, for example, has increased its flight frequency to Bali,” he added.

Meanwhile, Anton Sitorus, another analyst at the consultant company, predicted that overall, the growth in the property market would slow this year, with signs of a slow down already  detected in the  final quarter of last year.

The economy is predicted this year to grow by 4.7 percent, slower than  the 6.2 percent estimated for 2008.

“Due to the global economic crisis, the property market is facing slower business activities, and weaker demand, in addition to the still high interest rates. As a result, developers have had to cancel a number of property projects this year,” he said.

But he noted that the cancelled ones were those being planned, not the ones already under construction.

“For example, the ones planned to start in February this year will be rescheduled to later this year or even next year.

“But as far as we know there are no projects under construction which will be cancelled or rescheduled,” Anton said.

He said that with the economy slowing down and interest rates increasing, most people will tend to put their money into banks, instead of buying property.

Self-Sufficiency Program Seen as Unsuitable

Tuesday, 10 February, 2009 | 19:00 WIB

 

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The National Empowerment Program for People’s Self-Sufficiency (PNPMM) launched by the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare does not suit the the characteristics of villagers. “It’s too bureaucratic,” said Nunung Nuryantoro, deputy director of the International Center for Applied Finance and Economics at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), yesterday. She thinks the target is unclear and its implementation lacks supervision.

 

The allocation for this national program in 2009 is Rp 11,01 trillion. About 40 million workers are expected to be covered by this program. In 2008, the program claimed to have opened job opportunities for 43,2 million people.

 

DIANING SARI

Villagers Give Back 2.150 Majapahit Ancient Bricks

Tuesday, 10 February, 2009 | 19:38 WIB

 

TEMPO Interactive, Mojokerto:Klinterejo villagers in Mojokerto yesterday returned at least 2.150 bricks originating from the ancient Majapahit Kingdom. The bricks were put back to where they were initially found.

 

According to Klinterejo village chief, Zainal Abidin, the villagers found the 20 x 35 centimeter bricks four years ago when they dug the village land. Since then, the land has been rented out for brick production.

 

Besides preserving the ancient bricks, around 20 Klinterejo villagers yesterday dug out more bricks in two locations just 150 meters away. In the three-hectare area where the Majapahit site is located, delicately sculptured old bricks forming a one-meter gate were found.

 

Besides the bricks, the villagers recently found at least eight ancient stone statues in the village bordering the Trowulan sub district. Zainal said there are still 7.000 more bricks that have not been returned by the villagers, 6.000 of which belong to the Roudlotul Ulum Islamic Boarding School.

 

While awaiting the arrival of the Yogyakarta National Archeological Research and Development Center experts to conduct a research, the ancient stones are stored at the Bre Kahuripan Site, locating only 100 meter from where the bricks were found.

 

An official from East Java Antiquities and Relics Conservation Agency (BP3), Aris Sovyani, said the government, through the BP3, will lease the land required for the research at Klinterejo. “Based on the recommendations of State Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, we will lease the area so the findings can be preserved,” Aris said, contacted by Tempo.

 

Aris also said that BP3 officials will start measuring the land area tomorrow.

 

KTHI HM

Related Article:

Govt ruined Majapahit artifacts

Households may have to store rainwater

Adianto P. Simamora, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Mon, 02/09/2009 9:10 AM

Homeowners and commercial building owners across the country will be required to build facilities to store rainwater, in a bid to prevent repeated floods and water scarcity.

A draft decree to be issued this week by State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar says all households and building owners must collect rainwater and channel it underground, starting this year.

“By doing so, we can reduce flooding in the country by up to 40 percent. The rainwater will also be a source to recharge groundwater in the event of drought,” said Masnellyarti Hilman, deputy director for nature conservation enhancement and environment degradation control at the ministry.

When signed, the decree will give households and commercial building operators who have not built rainwater catchment facilities one year to comply with the regulation.

The decree, however, stipulates no punitive measures against offenders, but Masnellyarti said a failure to heed the decree was subject to punishment, according to the 1997 environment law.

The draft stipulates three alternatives to collect rainwater, namely rainwater runoff pools, catchment basins and biopore cylinders.

A house built on land measuring up to 21 square meters must have at least three biopore cylinder units with a diameter of 10 centimeters and a maximum depth of 1 meter each.

“This is the simplest and cheapest way to collect rainwater. A biopore cylinder costs less than Rp 200,000 [US$17.39],” she said.

The cylinder can be planted either in the garden or parking area.

Commercial building operators can build rainwater runoff pools or catchment basins based on the rainfall rate, type of soil and aquifer where the building are situated.

A commercial building standing on 50 square meters or more of land, with groundwater levels less than a meter deep, must have a rainwater runoff pools measuring 1.5 cubic meters, which can be placed underground or above ground.

The rainwater would be channeled to the catchment pool through a pipe.

For buildings where the roof covers less than 26 square meters and with groundwater levels above 50 centimeters, catchment basins must be set up at least 10 meters from the septic tank.

Old buildings unattractive to investors

Agnes Winarti, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Mon, 02/09/2009 10:45 AM

With the increasing destruction of heritage buildings, experts say investors and the public do not understand the importance of conservation.

“Buying an old building in Jakarta is more like a burden, while abroad heritage buildings are regarded as diamonds,” the city administration’s independent review team for cultural heritage building restoration, Bambang Eryudhawan, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

“Here, buildings aren’t valued as much as the land on which they stand,” Bambang said.

According to data of the city tourism and culture agency, there are some 273 heritage buildings around Jakarta in areas such as Menteng, Kota, Condet and Kebayoran.

“People living in heritage areas like Menteng are burdened with the highest land and building taxes, which amounted some Rp 71 million per year for an 800 to 1,000 square meter property,” Bambang said,

Arya Abieta of the Indonesian Architectural Documentation Center, said that, “home owners, who are unable to pay such high taxes will sell the property to newcomers, who are less attached to the history of the property. They often demolish the historic buildings and rebuild something completely different.”

A 1999 bylaw on the utilization and preservation of cultural heritage buildings and areas differentiates heritage buildings into three categories: A, B and C.

Each category has different rules regarding renovations. Those violating the bylaws face a maximum of six months imprisonment and/or Rp 5 million (US$430) in fines.

Head of the city’s tourism and cultural agency Arie Budhiman said recently the administration did not mind if heritage sites were converted into restaurants, art galleries, or theaters, as long as the construction designs adhered to the regulations.

“We can not expect heritage buildings to stay sterile, they must be able to interact with their environment and bring economic benefits,” he said.

“Therefore, we invite the private sector to invest in the restoration of the buildings,” he said.

Bambang said the administration needed to better synchronise coordination between related stakeholders and work out contradictory heritage building regulations.

He said that the lack of coordination between related agencies, including the spatial planning agency and the tourism and cultural agency, authorized to monitor the development of heritage sites, has created loopholes.

“There are cases where a category-A-building according to one agency is considered a category B by another,” he said.

The lack of public order, environmental sanitation and safety, further discourage heritage building owners in the Old Town area from revamping their properties.

“We hope that the administration starts directly tackling the social and economic conditions in Old Town, instead of merely focusing on artificial grooming, such as placing lamps in the area,” Ella Ubaidi of the association of the Old Town heritage building owners, said.

Related Article:

Heritage houses in Menteng torn down

INDONESIA: Building a bridge to eliminate malaria

IRIN,  (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)

NGRECO, 8 February 2009 (IRIN) - Like most remote villages in Indonesia, Ngreco, tucked away in the mountains of Pacitan District in East Java Province, suffers from a high incidence of malaria.

 

A new bridge in Ngreco village, East Java Province, has helped reduce incidences of malaria

The village’s remote location means residents are inaccessible to district health workers, and have little access to health care services. In eastern Indonesia, where malaria is endemic, malaria rates are usually 20-30 percent, but at one point in Ngreco it reached 80 percent. 

In 2006, a US$25,000 grant from the local government allowed the 5,400 inhabitants to build a much-needed concrete bridge to replace the precarious, hanging bridge that they had been forced to use until then. The money was not enough, but the villagers knew they needed the bridge, and so they decided to contribute their time and resources to make up the difference. 

"Villagers worked in shifts,” said Wasi Prayitno, head of the task force that carried out the project in Pacitan. "Thirty people worked each day for three months until the bridge was completed." They were paid 50-70 percent of their normal wages. 

Bridge allows access by health workers 

Haryono, the village head, enumerated the benefits they have reaped from the bridge: cheaper prices for the goods they purchase, higher selling prices for their produce, easier access to schools and hospitals, and, he emphasised, a drastically reduced malaria incidence of just 20 percent. 

Before, health extension workers could not get in. The sick had to be carried out by villagers on stretchers.

In a country where, according to the World Health Organization, nearly half the population or more than 90 million people live in malaria endemic areas, Ngreco's experience shows that the government's goal of eliminating the mosquito-borne disease by 2030 is not impossible. Both government and private malaria experts told IRIN that reducing isolation is a critical factor in achieving this goal. 

Dave Jenkins, director of SurfAid International in Indonesia, which runs an anti-malaria programme covering more than 200 villages in Mentawai Islands, eastern Indonesia, said that while incidents of malaria fluctuate based on a number of variables, such as weather, "access [by health workers] is one of the critical success factors". 

"Isolation is a huge issue," he told IRIN. "It's the reason there's a high incidence in remote areas." 

The Ministry of Health agrees. "Indonesia has a strong health infrastructure. We have specific malaria control units in districts. We recruit women volunteers and train them in malaria control," said Rita Kusriastuti, the ministry's director of vector-borne diseases. "But our volunteers can't conduct spraying and distribute bed nets if they can't access the villages." 

“Behaviour change is key” 

She added that Indonesia was currently on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals of halting and beginning to reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015. "In Java and Bali, the incidence is now just 0.2 percent," she said. 

Jenkins warns, though, that not too much credit should be given to any single factor, and that an effective malaria control programme should have a mix of interventions. "In Mentawai, we have seen very significant reductions and very strong downward trends, but not all this is due to our interventions. There are natural fluctuations in malaria incidence. Behavior change is key," he said. "You can't just go into a village and dump bed nets. You have to educate people in using them." 

WHO said that in 2000, only about 0.2 percent of children slept under an insecticide-treated bed net. "Once people use bed nets, that's definitely an indicator of success," Jenkins said.

Public markets to have new regulations

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 02/07/2009 1:05 PM

JAKARTA: With the new bylaw on private markets soon to be implemented, many things need to be put on hold, says an official with the city agency for small and medium enterprise, and trade.

"The bylaw is still being discussed by all the stakeholders, and I hope it will be ready this month," said the agency's head, Ade Soeharsana, on Friday.

"The regulation will give everyone fair opportunity.

"We have restraint permits for new convenience stores or foreign franchises planning to enter the city," Ade said.

"Four hundred of them have been waiting in line since 2006."

This is in accordance with the 2006 Jakarta Governor Instruction on convenience store permits.

Rudy Sumampouw, general secretary of the Indonesian Association of Retailers (Aprindo), said, "We hope the regulation will accommodate everyone's needs - big retailers as well as small ones."

Retail stores are mushrooming in Jakarta with 126 retail franchises and 149 convenience store chains, not including franchises.

North Jakarta has 9 different convenience store chains, West Jakarta has 58, Central Jakarta 23, East Jakarta 34, and South Jakarta 25, the agency said.

Heritage houses in Menteng torn down

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 02/07/2009 1:05 PM

JAKARTA: Two old buildings, located near Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo's official residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta, are about to be torn down to allow for the construction of new buildings, says the city property control and supervision agency (P2B).

An official with the agency, Pupung, said no. 42 and 44 on Jl Teuku Umar were heritage-listed buildings.

"They are grouped on a conservation list. One has B status and the other has C status."

Status B is for buildings that can be renovated without changing the main structure, said Arya Abieta, an expert from the center of Indonesian architecture archives.

Status C is for buildings that can be changed or rebuilt, but the structures have to follow the design of nearby buildings,

Pupung said the Central Jakarta P2B office had allowed for the renovation of the buildings.

Pupung said demolition required permission from a higher agency.

There are a number of heritage-listed houses in Menteng. Many of them have morphed into modern buildings, functioning as beauty salons or health clinics. Some have been demolished.

The head of culture and tourism at the Jakarta administration, Arie Budiman, said the city has at least 273 protected buildings.

People violating the 1992 law on the preservation of cultural items can be jailed for up to 10 years or fined up to Rp 100 million.

Development at Lake Buyan goes on without permits

Claudia Sardi, The Jakarta Post, Buleleng | Sat, 02/07/2009 1:11 PM | Bali

The development thriller of Lake Buyan, one of the few water catchment areas in Bali, is not yet finished as PT Nusa Bali Abadi, an Indonesian developer, has started to build around the sacred lake.

Without having the essential recommendation from Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, the development steps into another chapter. The news about Pastika's rejection of PT Anantara's proposal to develop Lake Buyan should have triggered sighs of relief. After waves of protests and letters of complaint, he announced last week that he had turned down the offer from PT Anantara to develop Lake Buyan into an ecotourism resort.

But Ninik Hanoppo, PT Nusa Bali Abadi's director, insisted the company had gone through all the necessary legal procedures. She explained the company had got approval from the village chiefs and the Forestry Ministry in Jakarta to build 25 villas on the 20-hectare plot of land in the Sukasada district near Lake Buyan.

It was reported that the developer obtained the concession from the Buleleng regent and the Forestry Ministry in 2007. However, former Bali governor Dewa Made Baratha had failed to issue the permit as the area was state-protected and a forest conservation area.

On the permit, it was noted the company planned to build 25 villas on the 20 hectares of land. Later, it was reported that instead of building 25 villas, the company would expand the project to build 400 villas with the theme of "The Lakes - floating between two worlds."

When finished, the development would offer tourists a real forest experience.

"My company will not build 400 villas. We only plan to construct 25 villas," Hanoppo confirmed to The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Nyoman Silanawa, head of the Bali Forest Conservation Office said, "The permit to build a resort on that site was not valid as former governor Beratha did not issue it." The former governor had ordered his office to stop any development projects in the conservation area.

"The planned development project would certainly destroy the environment and the ecosystem of the forest," Silanawa added.

Dharma Putra, the company's former environment consultant, asserted that he had done an environmental assessment for the project.

"In 2005, I did an environment impact assessment for the construction of the 25 villas and concluded it was environmentally friendly, as no trees would be cut down and the villas would not be built on concrete flooring," Putra explained.

He said the resort had developed a strategy to conserve water and that the decreasing water level was due to the increasing usage from farmers in the area. "The assessment would no longer be valid if more villas were built in the forest, as the impact on the environment would be much bigger," Putra said. "This is just a big joke. The government wants to stop the lakes from drying out, and now these huge resorts, which consume millions of liters of water a day themselves, should really aggravate the situation," Agung Wardana, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi), said.

Due to sedimentation, Lake Buyan, which was originally 500 hectares, has lost 60 hectares in the last few years.

Governor Pastika said earlier this year that he planned to find the best way to restore the lake as it had reached a critical point.

"The rejection by the governor is a good sign from the authorities, but what we need is a long-term moratorium to stop any development on the lake," Wardana said

Fire guts Bounty cruise warehouse

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 02/07/2009 1:11 PM  |  Bali

 

Fire engulfed parts of a warehouse belonging to the Bounty cruise ship company at Benoa Port in Denpasar on Friday morning.

 

The fire damaged two storage rooms that held two huge tanks of water and diesel, but no casualties were reported.

 

Benoa Marine Police chief Adj. Comr. Gusti Ayu Putu Suwinaci said the fire was extinguished before it spread to a larger room nearby and a ship under construction. The fire was put out with the help of neighboring company PT Jaya Kota and port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo). Ayu said four fire engines came late to the scene to find that the fire had already been tamed. Firefighters were helped by a machine that sucked up seawater from Jaya Kota into a tank that would normally have been used to water ornamental plants at the port.

 

"We do not know the source of the fire yet, as the investigation is still underway. When I arrived, the fire erupted from the roof of the middle room where the water tank was kept," she said.

 

The storage tank of diesel, which would have spread the fire, was still intact and its storage room only had major damage to its roof. The middle room that kept some gasoline and a water tank was destroyed, while the larger room that kept aluminum materials only had minor damage on its roof.

 

Bounty owner, I Gde Wiratha, who is also the chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he could not yet estimate the total loss.

 

"I wonder what caused the fire; maybe an electricity surge or a lit cigarette? But that zone is a nonsmoking area," he said. He arrived at the scene in the afternoon after the blaze was put out.

 

He said the blaze taught him to immediately provide a special hydrant that was suitable for such a situation.

 

"It's a wake-up call for us, for not having a special hydrant," he said, adding that a currently available hydrant was not supported by an adequate water supply.

 

His wife, Yeni Wiratha, said she was grateful for the quick response that prevented the fire spreading to other buildings.

 

"It's indeed proof that God still protects us," she said.

BRR Points Way to Clean Dealing

The Jakarta Globe, Nivell Rayda, February 7, 2009 

The Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency, or BRR, announced on Thursday that a total of 129 companies previously engaged in local reconstruction projects had been blacklisted by the agency over the past four years. 

BRR head Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said his agency found that some of the companies won their contracts by bribing local officials, while others had performed poorly and appeared unable to deliver on the terms of their contracts. 

The blacklisting, he said, was based on public complaints. 

“So far, we have received 913 complaints involving 470 government reconstruction projects,” Kuntoro said, adding that 27 cases later ended in convictions, while the rest were still being investigated by police. 

Sixty percent of the companies were involved in housing projects for people who lost their homes in the 2004 tsunami, while the rest dealt with infrastructure and economic-facility projects. 

“This is how we prevented corruption in the reconstruction projects,” Kuntoro said. “We had to show contractors we meant business in fighting corruption.” 

The former energy and mineral resources minister distanced the BRR’s central office from the irregularities. “The transactions in question happened between BRR’s local work units and contractors and suppliers,” he said. 

Kuntoro said that unlike a number of other agencies and ministries, the BRR automatically revoked the questionable tenders and opened fresh bids as soon as irregularities were uncovered. The rapid termination of the contracts helped prevent more than Rp 715 billion ($61.5 million) in potential losses to the state, he said. 

In contrast, the Ministry of Transportation decided to go ahead with the purchase of 20 patrol boats, even after five companies had admitted to the Anti-Corruption Court earlier this year that they had bribed a lawmaker to win the bid. 

The Ministry of Forestry, meanwhile, has yet to revoke logging permits awarded to 15 companies in Riau Province, despite the sentencing of Pelalawan district chief Tengku Azmun Jaafar to 11 years in prison last year for accepting bribes from the firms. 

The BRR was established by the government a few months after the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami that devastated Aceh Province and Nias Island in North Sumatra, killing more than 167,000 people. 

A BRR office for Nias was set up shortly after an earthquake hit the island in March 2005. A total of 621 international NGOs involved in 1,633 projects have worked under the agency. 

The Supreme Audit Agency has given the BRR a clean bill of health, lauding it as one of the most transparent government institutions. 

The BRR is the first government agency to have its own autonomous anticorruption unit, which many say is a direct result of international pressure for transparency in the reconstruction projects. It manages about $3.8 billion in funds, most of which come from foreign donors, for reconstruction in Aceh and Nias. 

The Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, established a representative office in Aceh, the only one outside Jakarta, at the request of the BRR. 

Information about projects under the BRR and other organizations can be accessed through the agency’s Web site, http://rand.brr.go.id/RAND/. 

The BRR will disband when its mandate expires in April. Some fear the local government may revert to corruption in its absence.

Related Article:

Govt suppliers could face 20 years in jail

Government Plans Village-Based Businesses

The Jakarta Globe, Teguh Prasetyo, February 6, 2009 

In an attempt to counteract the rising tide of job losses, the Ministry of Industry will continue to develop rural small- and micro-business centers through its “One Village, One Product” program, or OVOP, which began this year. 

“Upon seeing the massive layoffs in manufacturing, the ministry realizes the need for empowerment programs such as OVOP to help create industrial centers and more labor-intensive development projects in villages,” Agus Tjahajana, the ministry’s secretary general, said on Thursday. 

OVOP programs encourage the residents of a village to pool their efforts to develop their local economies by utilizing nearby natural resources. 

According to the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, 17,488 workers were laid off from January 2008 until December, but the Indonesian Employers Association, or Apindo, placed the figure at 100,000 dismissed workers for all of 2008. 

Fauzi Azis, director general of small and medium industry at the Ministry of Industry, said that through training and technical assistance, OVOP would help villages develop agricultural, furniture and handicraft businesses. 

“The program will also develop human resources for firms operating in villages,” he said OVOP program is currently being implemented in villages in Java, but Fauzi said the program would also be expanded to Sumatra, Kalimantan and West Nusa Tenggara Province. 

“We also want villages in the program to add value by developing their own natural resources such as agribusiness plantations for corn, potatoes, cacao and other corps,” he said. 

The ministry also plans to continue cooperative efforts between OVOP and local and foreign institutions like the Japan External Trade Organization, or Jetro. 

Agus said that smaller firms tend to be more resilient in times of financial crisis and collectively employ large numbers of workers throughout the country. 

Ministry data show that the number of Indonesian SMEs in increased to 3,554,706 manufacturing businesses employing 7,633,768 workers in 2008, compared with 3,442,306 firms with 7,632,931 employees in 2007. The total value of SME exports came to $10.5 billion in 2008, up from $10.2 billion the year before. 

This month, the government announced a stimulus budget for cooperatives and small- and medium-sized businesses totaling Rp 315 billion ($26.8 million). In addition to the stimulus, the ministry has also allocated roughly Rp 59 billion to help fund the OVOP program.

President Yudhoyono chairs meeting on Nipah Island`s development

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday chaired a meeting at his office to discuss development of Nipah Island on the border with Singapore, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said.

Speaking to the press before attending the meeting, Sudarsono said besides Nipah island`s development, the president and a number of cabinet ministers would also discuss matters related to the country`s outermost borders.

Present at the meeting were among others Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS, Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal, Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto, acting Coordinating Minister for Economy Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, and National Police Chief Gen Bambang Hendarso Danuri.

The government had since 2004 drawn up a master plan on Nipah island`s development for security and economic purposes.

The government was now planning to build a number of public facilities on Nipah Island, including a pier , plaza and monument, an integrated security post, mangrove and marine biota observation center, and a fishermen`s shelter.

The facilities would be constructed in accordance with the needs of visitors to the island which is located on the edge of a sea lane through which 50,000 merchant ships pass every year.

Related Article:

RI, Singapore agree on new boundary

Govt to renovate 65 percent of school buildings in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 02/03/2009 8:29 PM  

In an effort to improve the quality of education, the Jakarta administration will renovate 321 primary, secondary and vocational schools. 

Jakarta Infrastructure Division head Didi Sugandi said Tuesday that the renovation efforts fell into three categories: total, medium and major renovation. 

He added a total of 19 schools would undergo total renovations, 229 schools were scheduled for major reconstruction, and the remaining 10 would undergo medium-scale repairs. 

"The total volume of school buildings suggested for the reconstruction project was 497, but only 321 buildings will be worked on this year, while the remaining 179 have yet to be included in this year's renovation target," Sugandi said, as quoted by kompas.com. 

Around Rp 233 billion has been set aside for schools undergoing total reconstruction, with Rp 348 billion allocated for schools undergoing major reconstruction. 

According to Jakarta Education Agency secretary Ujang Arifin, 18 percent of schools in the city are reported to have collapsed, 22.2 percent are in dire conditions, and 13 percent are in need of medium restoration work. (amr)

Clean canals could reduce flooding by 40%: Expert

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/02/2009 4:05 PM  

Dredging Jakarta's rivers and canals could reduce flooding in the city by 40 percent, an expert from the Netherlands says. 

"Only by dredging them will we be able to reduce the effect of flooding by 40 percent," Peter Vroege told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview. 

Vroege leads a team of Dutch experts assisting the city administration's efforts to dredge Kali Mati and Kali Pademangan canals in North Jakarta. 

"Most Jakarta rivers and canals have silted up by up to 50 percent *of their original depths*," Vroege said, quoting a 2007 study by the city's river management body and Dutch experts under the Partners for Water program. 

According to the study, Jakarta has 18 main canals and over 500 smaller canals that are 2 to 15 meters in width. The study estimates that the city's network of canals has become silted up with 9 million cubic meters of sediment and waste. 

The city administration said the city's canal network performed only at 50 to 70 percent of its capacity. 

The system can accommodate a maximum of 50 millimeters of rainfall in a day. However, daily rainfall exceeding that amount is not uncommon during the rainy season. 

Vroege said the canals should be dredged regularly. 

"In Holland, the canals are dredged once every five or 10 years.*But*how frequent the dredging is will depend on whether people stop throwing garbage into the canals," he said. 

"That's why the administration needs to establish a better waste system and keep*reminding the people*not to throw away garbage into canals." 

City Public Works Agency head Budi Widiantoro said his office had removed 350 cubic meters of mud from the Kali Mati and Pademangan canals, which it then dumped into a nearby swamp in Ancol, also in North Jakarta. 

"After the two canals, we will *prioritize to* dredging the canals in Utan Kayu in East Jakarta, Kebon Bawang in North Jakarta and Krukut Bawah in Tanah Abang and Rawa Kerbau in Cempaka Putih, both in Central Jakarta," he said. 

Budi said that this year the administration had allocated Rp 1.5 billion (US$133,928) for dredging medium-size canals, including Kali Mati and Kali Pademangan. 

The administration has also earmarked Rp 200 billion to dredge Ciliwung River, which runs through Manggarai, Gunung Sahari and Gajah Mada. 

"We will start that in May," he added. 

The administration is also awaiting the disbursement of a World Bank loan worth US$150 million from the central government as part of a project to dredge 18 key drainage canals and retention basins. 

Of the loan, $5 million is allocated for procuring heavy equipment, and the rest is for operational expenses.

Jakarta's 47 fires in January cost Rp 10.6 billion

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 02/01/2009 6:26 PM  

Forty-seven fires broke out across the city in January, claiming 11 lives and causing Rp 10.6 billion in property damages, the city fire department said Sunday. 

“Seventy percent of the total fires occurred in residential areas, while 30 percent were at high-rises,” said the head of the department, Paimin Napitupulu. 

West Jakarta saw the most fires with 15 cases, followed by South Jakarta, Central Jakarta and North Jakarta with 10, 9 and 8 cases respectively. East Jakarta only saw five cases. 

“Most of the fires were caused by short circuits,” he told beritajakarta.com. 

Last year, the department recorded 819 fires, killing 14 and causing Rp 228.6 billion in losses. 

Paimin warned building managements, especially those of high-rises,  to comply with fire safety standards. 

“Currently, out of the 1,100 high-rises throughout the city, 10 to 15 percent have failed to equip themselves with proper fire safety systems,” he said. 

“In mid-February, I will summon the owners of buildings that have substandard fire safety systems.

“We will impose stern penalties on them .”