P

roperty developer PT Agung Podomoro Land (APLN) planned to continue with its value-added superblock projects that cater to the middle-class as a strategy to pursue growth this year, company executives have said.

Indra Wijaya, APLN's vice president, said the company would launch at least six projects this year in Jakarta, Karawang (West Java), Balikpapan (East Kalimantan) and Batam.

The projects in Jakarta would include the construction of apartments in Simprug, South Jakarta, and Pluit, North Jakarta, in addition to a superblock in Pancoran, South Jakarta, he said.

Outside Jakarta, the developer also planned one apartment block in Balikpapan and two superblocks in Karawang and Batam, he added.

'We have invested roughly Rp 900 billion (US$ 92.7 million) for our project in Karawang, which will stand on 15 hectares of land,' he said.

He added that, by the end of the year, the developer would have at least 13 superblocks in its portfolio. 'We currently have seven,' he said.

Indra added that besides the ready-to-launch projects, the developer was in negotiations to build superblocks in Medan, North Sumatra, and Cibubur, in addition to a 10-hectare project in Buaran, East Jakarta.

'We are also eyeing cities like Surabaya [East Java], which we have yet to enter. Our team has also checked out Solo [Surakarta, Central Java] and Yogyakarta,' he said.

He added that superblocks were of higher value to the developer because each element in a superblock ' such as shopping centers ' boosted the price of adjacent properties, such as hotels and apartments.

'Our room and occupancy rates at the Pullman Hotel [West Jakarta] match and even surpass those at hotels in the city center because the hotel is part of the [Central Park] superblock,' he said.

He added that such superblocks catered to the demands of the middle class, the developer's chief target segment.

'We have to embed lifestyle trends in our projects to give them added value, and we are introducing this concept to projects outside Jakarta as well,' he said. APLN finance director Cesar M. de la Cruz said the company was allocating Rp 4.5 trillion of capital expenditure for their ongoing projects this year.

'We will finance our capital expenditure through internal funds, and as of the first quarter, we have spent Rp 1 trillion,' he said.

He added that through their projects, the developer aimed to grow by between 10 and 15 percent this year.

'We also aim to gain 17-20 percent of our earnings from recurring income. Within the first quarter, recurring income has already contributed 20 percent,' he said.