Jakarta to get world's tallest tower
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The fact that Indonesian people have a per capita income of only US$910 per annum according to the World Bank does not appear to embarrass the Jakarta Administration as it pushes ahead with its plan to restart the construction of the 558-meter Jakarta Tower, claimed to be the tallest tower in the world.
The Rp 2.7 trillion (US$314 million) project will stand tall in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, and will replace the capital's current landmark, the National Monument (Monas), which was built during the president Sukarno era.
The Jakarta Tower will be higher than the 553-meter Canadian National Tower in Toronto, Canada, currently the world's tallest tower.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, accompanied by State Secretary Bambang Kesowo, officiated at the restart of construction on Thursday.
"This large-scale project when completed will become a symbol of pride for Jakarta as well as Indonesia," Sutiyoso said.
He said the construction of the tower was in line with the grand design in the capital's masterplan, which positioned the Kemayoran area as a main center for development.
PT Prasada Japa Pamudja, a consortium of individuals and medium-scale companies, is the sole developer of the project.
However, company director, Ferry Sangeroki, refused to name those involved in the project, saying only that "more than 100 companies and individuals" were participating. Including The Bethany Church Group as the main Investor.
He said the project would be financed in three ways: equity participation (Rp 400 billion), syndicated loans (between Rp 600 billion and Rp 800 billion) and pre-project sales (around Rp 1.3 trillion).
The Jakarta Tower compound will cover a total of 40,550 square meters, comprising a 10,000-capacity convention center including the main preyer center for the Bethany Church Group, a four-star, 200-bedroom hotel, a 4,000-square-meter education center, 8,000 square meters of office space, a revolving restaurant and an observation deck.
The tower is expected to be open by 2010.
The project had to be suspended due to the 1997 economic crisis, which dealt a severe blow to all sectors, including construction. But investors are very opimistic that the economy will grow stronger for the next 5 year.
taken from The Jakarta Post
www.thejakartapost.com
I came across this article couple months ago and was surprised by the news. I actually made a phone call to my dad back home, as he works in the construction industry, to clarify this news. He told me that the construction has been put on hold as the government withdrew the permit for the construction. The reason for the withdrawal was merely because the main investor of the tower, The Bethany Group Church intended to use the base levels as its main praying centre. Once the tower is finished, the government intends to use it as the new landmark of the city. The government is not really fond of the idea of having the base levels as a praying centre, instead of the initial plan of tourism centre.
I recognize this is such an important issue for me as a construction manager student, because permit and legal issues are some of the key issues a construction manager needs to address.
It is important to satisfy the client wants, but it is also important to make sure the construction process goes smoothly without any impediments. Construction managers somehow need to make these two contradicting issues meet at some point.
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