J

akarta is due to add yet another high rise to its skyline, but this building will conform entirely to green building certification standards.

Once completed, the GKM Green Tower will be the city’s first-ever commercial building to meet such standards.

“The GKM Green Tower will not only be the product of a green building concept and be green in color; it will also boast an entire green implementation process — starting with the materials used until the construction process, all of which will be environmentally friendly,” said Rudi Komajaya, president director of PT Lestari Kirana Persada, GKM’s developer.

The 31,000-square-meter building, which is located on Jl. T.B. Simatupang in South Jakarta, will have 22 above-ground floors and three basement floors and more than 80 percent of the total land will be developed as garden.

Rudi said the building would use renewable energy to allow it to be more energy efficient.

“The building will have its own waste water management system in addition to a rain harvesting system, which will allow us to save water and recycle it,” he said.

The building would also apply a photovoltaic system, using solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity, and use as much natural light as possible during the day, he added.

Construction on the building, which is being conducted by Total Bangun Persada, is expected to be completed in September next year. PT Pandega Desain Weharima is the architectural firm that provided the design for the building and Wiratman and Associates are acting as structural consultants.

Currently, the GKM Green Tower is in the process of being granted platinum level certification, the highest level of green building certification, from the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI).

“We have invested around US$25–30 million in this building. Yes, it’s expensive because we’re trying to meet all the categories required for green building. But in the long term, we will see lower operational costs,” Lestari’s president commissioner, Hendra Gunawan, said.

There are six categories for receiving green building certification from the GBCI: energy efficiency and conservation, indoor air health and comfort, appropriate site development, material resources and cycle, water conservation, and building environment management.

Hendra said units in the building would only be rented or sold to tenants who agreed with their green-building management code. “We will require tenants to have at least one green building officer who can assist them in maintaining the units,” he said.

A green-building professional, Totok Sulistyanto, said only three buildings in Jakarta currently had GBCI platinum certification, namely Grand Indonesia, the BCA Tower and the Public Works Ministry.

“If the GKM Green Tower is completed and acquires the certification, it will be the first new ‘platinum’ building,” he said.