- VIVAnews/Nurcholis Anhari Lubis
VIVAnews – Jakarta will proceed with the development of a great number of shopping centers or malls until 2015 even though the moratorium or temporary suspension of mall building permit had been in effect since September 2011.
However, the Jakarta administration viewed that the presence of malls in the capital is very significant commercially. Jakarta has no issue about building malls in the area, as long as the developer had been granted the permit before the moratorium was issued.
“I think that people have the rights to speak their mind. But based on the regulation, if a person wants to build a mall for a commercial purpose, then it is permitted. We would violate the regulation if we prohibit such person to build a mall,” said Head of Jakarta’s Layout Bureau, Wiriyatmoko, today.
Wiriyatmoko admitted that there are many parties conflicting about mall development in Jakarta. However, he said that commercially, malls can give a positive effect for Jakarta’s economy. Moreover, new malls can open up more job opportunities.
“In fact, the easiest way to provide more job opportunities is by developing more malls, even for illiterate or color-blind people,” he said.
Wiriyatmoko also compared the presence of malls in Jakarta with smaller international cities, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, which have more malls than Jakarta.
“You may see Singapore or Hong Kong. They are smaller in size compared to Jakarta, but they have far more malls than us and they always promote about being Asia’s shopping heaven,” he said.
According to Research Colliers International Indonesia, there will be an addition of 21 new shopping centers in Jakarta from 2012 to 2013. Total floor area will reach 827,376 sqm and 45% will be in Jakarta. Half of the new malls have reached more than 50% in construction stage.
Colliers reported that the under-construction malls which will be launched this year include: Kemang Village, Menteng Square, Kota Kassablanka, Pulomas X-'Venture, Ciputra World Jakarta, and Pondok Indah Street Gallery. They are all located in South and Central Jakarta, except for Pulomas X-'Venture. In addition, Agung Podomoro has just launched its project, Kuningan City Mall, end of last year.
Agung Podomoro is also continuing the development of shopping facilities in its residential area in Kalibata, which stands on an area of 60.000 ha-90.000 ha. The project is targeted to be completed next year and will be able to hold 120-180 tenants.
Colliers calculated that the mall’s cumulative supply in Jakarta this year will rise up to 5.6 percent or 335,456 sqm. The growth will exceed last year’s growth of 4.5 percent or a total of 5.95 million sqm.
