Expat house ownership welcomed

Benget Besalicto Tnb., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 02/19/2009 2:10 PM 

 

Property analysts welcome plans to allow foreigners to own houses as it will stimulate the property market despite the slowing economy.

 

"It's good news. I think if it is realized it will help stimulate the local market significantly," Djodi Trisusanto, a property analyst with Jones Lang Lasalle, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

 

He was commenting on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement that he would ask the National Land Agency (BPN), the home minister and the state minister for people's housing affairs to conduct an in-depth study into granting expatriates home ownership rights.

 

Unlike some other countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore, which allow expatriates to own property, Indonesia still bans such ownership. Based on the 1996 government regulation, foreigners cannot own houses, apartments, and condominiums in Indonesia. They are only allowed to have utility rights up to 20 years and are then eligible for another 20 year extention.

 

During the Tuesday dialogue with the president after the inauguration of 114,000 units of simple low-cost houses in Lamongan, East Java, the chairman of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI), Teguh Satria urged the government to revise the regulation by allowing foreigners to acquire a 70-year home ownership right, in order to help stimulate the local economy.

 

"Amid the slowing growth in the property market, allowing foreign ownership will certainly help push up the demand for property here," said Arief Rahardjo, a property analyst with PT. Cushman & Wakefield Indonesia, a property consultancy company.

 

Analysts have predicted that the property market this year will see slowing growth due to the global economic downturn. During the last quarter of last year property sales already dropped by between 10 and 20 percent.

 

But Djodi warned the government should regulate the categories of properties to be opened up to foreigners and the basic requirements for ownership so as to optimize their potential economic contribution.

 

"I think middle-to-lower market properties should not be allowed to be owned by foreigners."

 

"The government should design the foreign ownership regulation so as to avoid any speculative buying by foreigners," he noted.

 

To avoid speculative purchases, Djodi suggested government should make sure that ownership was only granted for permanent residence and not open the market too much.

 

Both Djodi and Arief noted that despite the foreign ownership ban, many expatriates in practice now owned houses, apartments, or condominiums, using loopholes in the existing laws.

 

For example, foreigners can make use of local people to buy a house. Then before a notary they will sign an agreement saying that the local people get a loan from the foreigners at the amount of the house price. And based on the agreement, the loan will be made permanent while the house is presented as collateral which can be taken over anytime.

Government mulls allowing expatriates to own houses

Ridwan Max Sijabat, THE JAKARTA POST, LAMONGAN 

Green housing: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono plants a Sawo Kecik tree Tuesday at a park in the Graha Indah housing complex in Tambakrigading village, Tikung district, Lamongan, East Java. First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, several ministers and the Indonesian Military and National Police chiefs were also invited to plant various trees, after the President inaugurated the opening of some 114,000 units of healthy simple houses (RSH) in the area. JP/Ridwan Max Sijabat

Expatriates, investors in particular, living in Indonesia will no longer have to spend much money to rent luxury residences in the country. 

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday he would ask the National Land Agency (BPN), the home minister and the state minister for people's housing affairs to conduct an in-depth study into granting expats home ownership rights. 

"The government has no objection to this, provided it will benefit the people and make the country's climate more conducive to foreign investment," Yudhoyono said at the launch of 114,000 units of healthy simple houses (RSH) in Lamongan, East Java. 

The event also featured a dialogue with housing developers and homeowners, in which the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI) raised the issue of home ownership for expatriates. 

Currently, expats in Indonesia are not allowed to own homes. 

A 1996 government regulation states they may only have house utility rights for 20 years, which may be extended for another 20 and 25 years consecutively. 

REI chairman Teguh Satria called on the government to revise the regulation to grant expatriates a 70-year home ownership right, in an effort to make the country more competitive and conducive to foreign investment. 

"This way, Indonesia will be able to compete with Singapore," he said. 

"If the government regulation is revised to allow expats to own homes, the prices of our apartments and other properties will rise sharply," he said. 

"Thus many foreign investors will not be interested in luxury residences and apartments, because they have the right to only use them for 20 years, and afterward they have to resell them or return them to the government." 

The REI also lauded the government's attention to its program to develop affordable homes for low-income people, in the hope the government would continue granting subsidies for the project. 

"SBY is the only president who has officiated three housing complexes built under the 100,000-house program, and we expect him to continue supporting the program in the coming years," Teguh said. 

Regarding on the housing subsidy, the President pointed out the government's limited capability and said it had allocated Rp 2.5 trillion in subsidies to develop affordable houses for low-ranking civil servants, servicemen and police personnel this year, with bigger amounts of the state budget allocated for the development of education, health and infrastructure projects. 

Yudhoyono also asked Indonesian Military chief Gen. Djoko Santoso and National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso, both present at Tuesday's event, to raise housing deposits for servicemen, because the monthly wages of low-ranking soldiers and police personnel had increased more than twofold to Rp 1.7 million from Rp 700,000. 

During the ceremony, the President also witnessed the handover by state insurance company PT Jamsostek of Rp 174.7 billion in housing loan assistance for 25,000 workers in East Java through state-owned Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN).

Menteng house sealed off for heritage violation

The Jakarta Post, Mon, 02/16/2009 2:42 PM

JAKARTA: The Jakarta Building Control and Monitoring Agency has sealed off a house on Jl. Teuku Umar No. 42-44 in Menteng, Central Jakarta, an official said recently.

The house, a protected building under a bylaw on heritage building protection, was altered in violation of the bylaw and building permits.

The owner built a canopy in front of the house and a new building in the back, but did not include plans for either feature in the permit application, the agency reported.

"The violation is not severe, that's why we only sealed off parts of the buildings, not all," said agency head Hari Sasongko, as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

If the owner insists on making the modifications, they must apply for new permits. The approval would depend on the outcome of a meeting of the City Architecture Advisory Team, he said.

Hari said the building at No. 42 fell into Category B, and the one at No. 44 into Category C.

Category B buildings may be renovated but must maintain the main building's originality and design, while Category C buildings may be totally renovated but must reflect the neighborhood's history, atmosphere and style. - JP

Related Article:

Heritage houses in Menteng torn down

Old Town project moves at snail’s pace

Agnes Winarti, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Mon, 02/16/2009 11:33 AM 

 

A 2,800-square-meter reddish-brown building stands tall on the corner of Jl. Kali Besar Timur in the Old Town, West Jakarta, despite the bruises brought by aging.

 

Peeping inside, one is captivated  by rays of sunlight passing through its vast space, as most of the building’s roof has vanished. A huge tree has been the building’s sole occupant over the past 30 years.

“Please see the sign. You can not enter without the owner’s permission,” Rohadi, the building’s keeper  told a group of curious youngsters who were just about to step inside.

“I am planning to renovate the roof soon. For safety reasons, I do not permit visitors to enter,” Ella Ubaidi, owner of the two-story building, said on Saturday.

Another roofless building next to Ella’s houses a small group of the homeless people, who have built shelters made of plywood inside.

There are some 50 category A   (over 50-years-old, of historical value and having a rare architectural design) and B (over 50-years-old) buildings in the Old Town area, but only two are undergoing renovation.

Some 70 percent of the buildings are owned by state enterprises, including Bank Mandiri and the Indonesian Trade Center.

Teguh Atmoko, an architecture and spatial planning adviser of the Jakarta Old Town association, told The Jakarta Post that heritage building conservation could cost up to Rp 5 million (US$425) per square meter (sqm).

Restoration of old buildings requires special, construction materials, which are costly.

In order to attract building owners to invest in the conservation, Teguh and Ella said the administration must build the basic infrastructure and ensure safety, public order, sanitation and orderly transportation in the area.

”I am aware that it is not the time to look for who’s to blame. But the basic infrastructure is clearly not sufficient. Illegal parking, unruly public transport, the smelly canal, wandering bums and thugs are all problems,” Ella said.

“The administration has focused only on cosmetic appearance, such as installing lamps and planting trees, while we [owners] expect social and economic improvement of the area,” she added.

Teguh said integrated policy to revitalize Old Town was important. For example, he said, the Kali Besar river had not been dredged for years, but the administration had began restoring it embankment.

“The pavement stones along Jl. Pintu Besar were constructed higher than the buildings along the street. The administration never consulted with the experts in the conservation team,” he said.    

Teguh added that the ownership of some 30 percent of the buildings was in dispute. 

Last year, Teguh completed a guideline for the function of buildings in Old Town. The guideline proposed the ground floor of the buildings be used for commercial purposes such as restaurants and shops, while the upper level be used for hotels and residences. 

Ella said she had appointed a keeper to clean her property, which decades ago functioned as a warehouse for tea products.

“There are still a lot of things to be done to revitalize the Old Town. We are moving towards that, slowly,” Teguh said.

 

“It is still better than not moving at all, though,” he added.

Lawang Sewu: Ahaunted, sad place

Simon Marcus Gower, Contributor The Jakarta Post, SEMARANG | Mon, 02/09/2009 12:35 PM

 

Framed view: The internal courtyard is attractively framed by galleries and cloisters. JP/Simon Marcus Gower 

 

Looming magnificently and yet sadly, over a major traffic island in central Semarang stands the building known as Lawang Sewu.

 

Lawang Sewu has many tales to tell but today it is quite tragically neglected and wasting away. This grand building stands empty and, in parts, is desperately dilapidated.

 

It was built by the Dutch in the mid-19th century as the headquarters for their Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij, or the Dutch Indies Rail Company. In its day it dominated the surrounding area with its high towers and sprawling footprint but in the war years of the 1940s it seems the Japanese made particularly nasty use of it.

 

Interrogations were apparently held within the confines of the building and many of the victims were even killed by the invaders inside its walls. It is from these more gruesome aspects of the building’s past that ghost tales arise.

 

There are tales told of headless ghouls wandering the corridors and of a young Dutch lady who killed herself in the building, for reasons unknown. But perhaps the design and current condition of the building allows for the embellishment of these tales.

 

The building is known as Lawang Sewu, which can be translated as the Building of a Thousand Doors. There are a very great many doors in the building but it is unlikely that there are actually a thousand. It is true though that there are long corridors with numerous doors and rooms along them. It is but a small stretch of the imagination to imagine ghosts and ghouls weaving their way between these rooms and through these doors.

 

Sadly it is a greater stretch of the imagination to conjure up images of what the building must have been like in its heyday. Today it is a dark and evidently sick. Its white walls are faded throughout; blackened by pollution and neglect. Rendered walls are cracked and any wall paper has long since fallen away to reveal the red bricks beneath. Mould and weeds grow over much of the building and mice and rats are the chief residents.

 

But even with all this neglect and terrible dilapidation there are parts of the building that survive and give hints at its former, undoubted glory. Take for example the main and central entry point into the building. Stepping into the building from here one is confronted by a monumental and powerful staircase that would not look out of place in an ancient castle or cathedral.

 

Light streams down onto this great stone staircase, colored by the glass through which it filters. Incredibly, given the extent of neglect and damage, these huge, high windows remain intact and what a wonder to the eye they are!

 

Arriving at the right time of day, it is possible to see these stain-glass windows in a wonderful riot of color. Light streams through, bringing them to life with their vibrant colors, which are perhaps accentuated by the grey stones of the staircase, and neglected walls that surround it.

The Dutch cities of Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam are depicted in the glass. Coats of arms sit at the tops of the windows and beneath these are two large, full-length female figures whose flowing robes are detailed and rich in color.

 

On other parts of the windows are details that are indicative of the colonial and mercantile origins of the building. There is a representation of a steamship riding the waves presumably between Europe and the Indonesian archipelago. Central to all of the windows is a single wheel, seemingly emerging from clouds. This alludes to the building’s railway connection.

 

Grand view: Lawang Sewu stands magnificently overlooking a major traffic in Semarang city center. JP/Simon Marcus Gower

Little else, though, is left in the building to suggest its original purpose. Rooms that were perhaps once busy offices are now empty and look forlorn. In parts, temporary columns have been installed to keep roof from falling in. The neglect is wretched and one wonders how long a building can survive in such a state.

 

The neglect is made all the more sad, even shameful, considering the quality of the building’s design. Its open galleries and ground floor cloisters are solid and fortress-like but there are subtle details too within the building. The stain-glass windows are an excellent example of this but elsewhere there are fine architectural touches.

 

Turning a corner the visitor arrives at a dark hole that runs between floors. Nothing can really be seen in this black hole but shine a light down it and what is revealed is a beautifully detailed cast-iron spiral staircase that is probably more than 100 years old; today though it is disused and covered in a thick layer of sooty dust.

 

Many of Lawang Sewu’s legendary doors have been lost and those that remain nearly all seem to have been stripped of their locks and handles. The empty, high-ceilinged corridors of the building no longer echo with the voices and hubbub of offices workers; instead only the voices of curious visitors are heard and many of these visitors come because of the building’s reputation for ghosts.

 

But tales of ghosts and ghouls should not be what this great building is all about. Bandung has its Gedung Sate, a great building that has become a symbol of that city. Semarang should have Lawang Sewu as a living and actively used building and symbol of its status.

 

Some say that the ghost-stories associated with the building deter people from renovating and bringing it back to use and life. How silly this does seem?!

Old immigration office — private partnership distortion

Lin Che Wei and Marco Kusumawijaya, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Sat, 02/14/2009 10:29 AM 

 

Few buildings in Jakarta can boast a more genuine presence of Old Jakarta than the Old Immigration Office building, formerly known as Netherlands-Indische Kunstkring (the Netherlands-Indies Art Circle). It’s now simply known as Buddha Bar.

 

The main building of the compound on Jl. Teuku Umar 1 one of the earliest reinforced-concrete buildings built during the Dutch colonial era. It originally functioned as a center for the arts and hosted opera performances.

 

It held also Indonesia’s first ever architecture exhibition and painting exhibitions by the modernist European masters.

 

Recognizing the historical and architectural importance of the building, Jakarta’s administration spent Rp 28 billion in 2002 to repurchase the old building and then poured an additional Rp 6.1 billion into restoring it in 2005.

 

Named the Netherlands-Indische Kunstkring (the Netherlands-Indies Art Circle), the building was designed and constructed in 1912 by Dutch architect Pieter Adriaan Jacobus Moojen, who was also the developer and one of the two architect-designers of the Menteng residential estate.

 

As reported by The Jakarta Post on July 18, 2005, Aurora Tambunan, the head of the city’s Culture and Museums Agency had promised that the agency would work with private management to transform the building into a ‘unique venue’ where all Jakartans could hold activities.

 

One part of the building would be set aside for commercial purpose. Unfortunately, this pledge has never become a reality.

 

The building is not a unique venue for all Jakartans. It is a unique venue for some Jakartans — the upper class ones. 

 

The whole building — not only a part of it — has become the totally commercial Buddha Bar. It is interesting to note that a daughter of former governor Sutiyoso now runs the operation.

 

Physically it has returned to its former glory, but spiritually it has lost its soul and its place with the public. As citizens of Jakarta, now we now know what the city administration means by private management.

 

We hope it is only a coincidence that the building was repurchased and renovated using funds from the city’s budget during Sutiyoso’s term as Governor of Jakarta.

 

Public private partnerships should mean injecting money from the private sector to support public projects, not the other way around. The repurchase and renovation was done with public money.

 

However, now that the renovation has been completed, the building is being used to house a private commercial enterprise, run by a child of the public officer who approved the purchase and renovation in the first place.

 

On a visit to the Buddha Bar last week, Lin Che Wei remembered the old Jakarta Immigration office. To be honest, the feeling was really mixed. He was happy because such marvellous building is being preserved for future generations, but he was sad that it has lost the openness to the public and was disgusted to learn how the public private partnership scheme was distorted. 

 

To be honest, we prefer the old Jakarta Immigration office, as the building might have been run down, but it wasn’t a gaudy hang-out for the rich and powerful.

 

In the old Jakarta Immigration Office there was room to service both the poor and the rich – there was a spirit of service to the general public.

 

More importantly, there was a spirit that the old heritage building was a public space which belonged to all citizens and we believe that really matters. The old Jakarta Immigration Office might have been run-down but there was a room for the public and there was a room for honesty, and that is what really matters.

 

Indeed, we are increasingly in need of public infrastructure that is truly open and inclusive to help facilitate meaningful urban societal integration.

 

Because, we know that cities in Indonesia — probably also in all Southeast Asia and the world at large — are really facing three inter-related threats: the receding and shrinking role of the state (as the representative of the public), expanding privatisation and invasive and intruding sectarianism. They are all too easily experienced in our every day public spaces.

 

We know too that it is not easy to protect what is public entirely. Often we have to resort to public-private partnerships that are not always beneficial to the public, because of some distortion, of which the Gedung Imigrasi is a perfect example.

 

It was repurchased and restored to its original condition with public money; but to operate and maintain it, the government has to depend on the private sector that turned it into an exclusive upper class nightspot. It lost its publicness, despite the public investment.

 

We strongly believe as citizens of Jakarta that we have the right to demand accountability from Governor Fauzi Bowo to make good the promise made by the head of City Culture and Museum Agency to make the venue open for the public, irrespective of their social class. The building should be made more open to all Jakartans.

 

We strongly believe that all Jakartans have the right to enjoy the building – the Jakarta administration must ensure that only a part of the building is used for the commercial purpose and that the maintenance of the building comes with a Public Private Partner-ship scheme which is more accountable and does not rely purely on nepotism.

 

 

Lin Che Wei is a Founder of Independent Research and Advisory Indonesia, Marco Kusumawijaya is an architect and urban planner.

More street vendors to face eviction in the capital

Triwik Kurniasari, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Sat, 02/14/2009 11:25 AM 

 

Street vendors in parking lots at the National Monument (Monas) and Poncol, both in Central Jakarta, will have to start thinking about new places to run their business, with the implementation of the Central Jakarta municipal administration’s plan to tidy up the city.

 

Mayor Sylviana Murni said her administration intended to turn the locations into green areas.

“We plan to convert the two areas into more beautiful and better places than before,” Sylviana said Friday.

 

“There will be more green areas, parks, pedestrian roads and public facilities. We will relocate hundreds of street vendors there.” 

 

There are 319 vendors at Monas, while there are about 210 vendors making money in Poncol, according to the municipal administration. 

 

There are more than 2,800 street vendors in 68 areas across the municipality at the moment. 

Sylviana said she would not evict vendors who made big contributions to the city.

 

“Plant vendors along Jl. Asia Afrika in Senayan, for instance, are taking part in making the city fresh and green,” she said.

 

Gearing up for this year’s Adipura cleanest city award inspection in March, the municipality is working hard to clean up the city.

 

The municipal administration previously cleaned seven areas from street stalls.

 

In January, it relocated street vendors from Kampung Lima to build a culinary center. The area will become one of five culinary hubs in Central Jakarta.

 

Councilors from Commission B overseeing economics affairs urged the municipality to be gentle when relocating the street vendors.

 

“They are human and make big contributions to the capital’s economy,” said councilor Tarmidi Edy Suwarno. “The municipal should give them a place before evicting them.”

 

The commission’s secretary, Nurmansyah Lubis, called for the municipality to erase any fees from the street vendors.

 

“They should be released from any fees based on a 2005 gubernatorial decree,” he said.

“The administration should be strict in enforcing the law. People who collect illegal fees from vendors should be punished.”

1,265 villas on protected Puncak face eviction

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 02/14/2009 2:44 PM

CIBINONG: The Bogor administration plans to tear down 1,265 villas, which were built on protected land in Puncak, West Java.

On Friday, the head of the Bogor property control and management agency, Mas'an Djajuli, said the eviction was made after his agency completed data on villas failing to arrange building permits (IMB).

"If everything falls into place, we will start bringing down those villas next Thursday," he was quoted by tempointeraktif.com. -JP

New body to continue Aceh projects

Erwida Maulia, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Sat, 02/14/2009 9:57 AM  

Helping Aceh and Nias: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (right) talks with Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia John Holmes (left) and BRR chief Kuntoro Mangkusubroto (center) in Jakarta on Friday during an exhibition on recovery efforts. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

The government has unveiled its plan to form a new agency to pick up where the post-tsunami Aceh and Nias reconstruction agency (BRR) left off. 

The government would also continue supervising Aceh reconstruction programs after the BRR ceases operations April 16. 

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Friday he had signed a decree ending the four-year term of the Agency for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation for Aceh and Nias. 

The decree also stipulates recovery programs in the two post-reconstruction areas would fall on the shoulders of state ministries and local authorities. 

“To guarantee the continuation of reconstruction and rehabilitation programs which have already been implemented, and to ensure the synchronization and harmonization of development  activities, the government will establish a new reconstruction agency for Aceh and Nias,” Yudhoyono told the opening ceremony of the two-day Coordination Forum for Aceh and Nias IV at the Jakarta Convention Center.  

“With this agency, we expect the next developments in the two areas will be integrated, rapidly implemented and sustainable,” he added. 

The President said the operation of the new body, due to be led by the  Aceh and North Sumatra governors, would have to maintain the principles of good governance as laid out by the BRR and its partners. 

“I am asking people who will run this body not to breach clean, transparent and accountable principles of management. We have spent a lot on these recovery programs – about Rp 22 trillion (US$1.85 billion) from the Indonesian government alone, before even mentioning financial support from donor countries. 

“It would be a pity if the continuation does not run well,” Yudhoyono warned. 

He said the central government would provide support for the Aceh and North Sumatra administrations to continue the recovery programs, while supervising the new body to ensure it stays on the right track. 

The President praised the BRR for “successfully” doing its job in Aceh and Nias in the four years since the two regions were ravaged by huge tsunami and an earthquake  in 2004 and 2005, respectively. 

He also said what the agency has done could set a good standard for the management of relief activities in other disaster-struck areas. 

BRR head Kuntoro Mangkusubroto reported his agency had collected $7.2 billion for recovery projects in Aceh and Nias, including $2.1 billion from the Indonesian government. 

He said 93 percent had been  channeled to many projects, including the construction of 134,000 housing units, 3,600 kilometers of roads, and 1,400 schools and training centers. 

Kuntoro ensured the accountability of the BRR management, citing good reviews by the Supreme Audit Agency for its 2007 financial report and by the State Ministry for Administrative Reforms for its work performance in 2006 and 2007. 

“If you visit Aceh and Nias now, you will see the significant progress we’ve made.... You will see that people’s lives are improving; they are far better off than they were before. 

“This would have been impossible without the hard work of over 500 national and international organizations representing more than 50 countries. Therefore, I bestow my highest appreciation on you all,” Kuntoro said at the same event.

Related Article:

Images of Aceh Earthquake 9.2 /Tsunami Disaster December 2004

President opens conference of Aceh and Nias coordination forum

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially opened a conference of the Aceh and Nias Coordination Forum at the Jakarta Convention Center here on Friday. 

During the conference, the Aceh and Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) presented its accountability since its operation in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami. 

The mandate of the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency will be over on April 16, 2009. 

BRR Chief Kuntoro Mangkusubroto in his speech said that in the Forum he would report all progresses achieved and programs prepared to support Aceh and Nias to enter a sustainable development stage. 

"We would like to report that out of all pledged funds amounting to US$7.2 billion, including US$2.1 billion from the Indonesian government, 93 percent or US$6.7 billion have been delivered to Aceh and Nias to finance various projects which have been completed currently," he said. 

BRR had completed the constructions of about 134,000 houses, and 3,600 km long roads, he said. 

In the economic field, a paddy harvesting was conducted in Bireun, Aceh, 15 months after the deadly tsunami. 

In the education sector, more than 1,400 school buildings had been constructed and some 40,000 teachers had joined training courses, he said. 

According to BRR`s data, the tsunami which devastated Aceh and Nias on December 26, 2004, destroyed 120,000 houses, damaged 70,000 others, and devastated 14 airports, 114 medical facilities, and 2,000 schools. 

The natural disaster also killed 2,500 teachers, and damaged 3,000 km long roads, 120 bridges, 20,000 hectares of fish ponds, 60,000 hectares of rice fields, and 1,052 government office buildings. 

During the reconstruction period, some 133,903 houses were built, 1,047 medical facilities were developed, and 1,488 school buildings were constructed. 

BRR had also coordinated training courses for 39,438 teachers, and constructions of 3,585 km long roads, 273 bridges, 12 airports, 20 seaports, 3,193 places of worship, and 987 government office buildings.

Telkom Sets Aside Rp1 Trillion for Investment

Friday, 13 February, 2009 | 16:30 WIB 

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) is setting aside Rp1 trillion in investments to develop cable telephone networks. These networks will be used to support the Internet-based television service (IPTV) which will be launched this year. The launch was initially scheduled to take place last year. 

Telkom CEO Rinaldi Firmansyah said the Rp1 trillion allocation did not include the service content development, which would cost US$ 10-15 million. This fund was part of the company’s 2009 budget amounting to US$ 2,5 billion. 

According to Rinaldi, IPTV uses a cable network as its conductor. The service will be launched in six big cities, including Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya. The company’s target is to have IPTV absorb 20 percent of the current cable telephone customers, reaching 8,7 million people. 

ant | arif

Resort project not affected by turmoil

Claudia Sardi, The Jakarta Post, Pecatu | Thu, 02/12/2009 2:33 PM  |  Bali 

A Rp 3 trillion development on Pecatu Hill in Jimbaran in southern Bali is showing no signs yet of being affected by the global financial crisis, with developer PT Bali Pecatu Graha (BPG) selling 124.5 hectares of land to investors for an ambitious new property project. 

The Pecatu Indah Resort project will eventually comprise exclusive residences, international-standard hospitals and schools, shopping malls, a 15,000-person capacity convention center, and recreation places, including theme and water parks. 

"None of the investors has pulled out of the contract so far, and we just signed a new contract with Condotel last October," said Arturo Seril, BPG project manager. 

"The project is scheduled for completion in 2020. I'm still very optimistic that we can finish it without more major incidents." 

BPG had prepared the master plan for the project in 1998, but due to the Indonesian economic crisis and the two terrorist bombings on the island, the company only began rolling out the project in early 2006. 

The New Kuta Golf Course, which opened its doors in 2007, is the first completed project on the site. 

It will play host to the Indonesia Open tournament this February, and plans to house its guests at the partially finished New Kuta Condotel, operated by Best Western. Once complete, the resort will include at least five luxury hotels. 

Both the Westin and Raffles hotels have bought land here and will begin construction soon; tea giant PT Sosro has also invested and plans to branch out into the hotel sector with its first property in Pecatu. 

Another developer, PT Panorama Development Utama (PMA), has almost finished work on a 21-villa complex called Hole 17, set in the middle of the golf course. 

"Pecatu Indah Resort will be something unique on the island, nothing like Nusa Dua, which only has standalone hotels. We are going to provide a huge range of facilities in one single area, which makes it very attractive", Seril said. 

BPG, owned by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, retains control of all 400 hectares of the land for the Pecatu Indah Resort. The firm is planning its own projects in the area including the Klapa, a four-story complex consisting of a restaurant, spa, beachfront disco and bars, currently under construction on a cliff overlooking the beach.

Related Article:

Budget hotels may buck property trend

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.