T

he Public Works and Housing Ministry is set to develop two markets run by city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya in Pasar Minggu and Pasar Rumput, South Jakarta, into integrated low-cost apartments (rusunawa).

The ministry'€™s acting director general of housing, Syarif Burhanuddin, revealed that the ministry has allocated Rp 2.2 trillion (US$165.4 million) to develop the two markets.

'€œWe have already allocated Rp 2.2 trillion to build the integrated rusunawa. It is called an integrated rusunawa because the apartment building would not only function as a residence, but also a shopping center. It will also have a clinic and a school for its tenants,'€ Syarif told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Friday.

He went on to say that each apartment building would have 24 floors, the first four of which would be dedicated to a clean traditional market where residents and visitors could shop. Syarif said that each location would have at least 4,000 apartments units.

'€œWe have already prepared the designs for both locations. Currently, we are waiting for PD Pasar Jaya and the city administration to temporarily relocate the vendors and demolish the markets, so we can start the bidding on the construction,'€ Syarif said.

The development of low-cost apartments in Pasar Minggu and Pasar Rumput markets will become a pilot project for a total of 12 traditional markets that will be developed into integrated rusunawa to catch up with the affordable housing backlog that resulted in more and more evictions.

The remaining 10 markets are Sunter Market, Sukapura Market, Lontar Market and Sindang Market in North Jakarta; Serdang Market, Cempaka Putih Market and Blok G Market in Central Jakarta; and Jelambar Polri Market, Jembatan Besi Market and Grogol Market in West Jakarta.

Separately, Pasar Jaya president director Djangga Lubis said the 12 markets were selected because they had a strategic location, a wide area and a lack of trading activities. He went on to say that the company was preparing to relocate the vendors to make way for development.

'€œWe are currently in discussions with the vendors to find the best place for the temporary relocations. They asked that the relocation be near their current markets,'€ Djangga told the Post on Thursday.

Most tenants at Jembatan Besi Market in West Jakarta welcomed the idea of integrating their market with rusunawa, but they feared that the new atmosphere would affect their sales.

'€œOur sales are good despite this shabby place. We get a lot of customers because this place is strategic,'€ said Encep, a meat seller.

Jembatan Besi Market is located in a densely populated area behind Season City shopping mall. There are two public minivans that pass the busy market, which is not far from Duri train station.

Many tenants at Grogol Market, however, rejected the development plan because they were afraid they would not be able to afford the rising cost of stalls after the construction.

'€œThis market is only busy on the weekend and the current cost is already expensive. I don'€™t know if I can afford the new cost later,'€ a cake seller named Mala said.

Grogol Market management head Gunawan said there are 567 empty kiosks of the total of 1609 kiosks in the building, which is also located near Season City. The market is a 10 minute walk from a Transjakarta bus shelter.

'€œGrogol Market is only passed by one public minivan, number 03, with a 30 minute waiting time. There are also not many residences around here,'€ he said. (rbk)