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BMW Stadium construction to continue
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has emphasized that his administration will continue the construction of the BMW Stadium in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, despite a recent ruling over a land dispute at the location
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span>Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has emphasized that his administration will continue the construction of the BMW Stadium in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, despite a recent ruling over a land dispute at the location.
The North Jakarta State Administrative Court has ruled in favor of developer PT Buana Permata Hijau’s (BPH) lawsuit against the North Jakarta National Land Agency (BPN) over the 6.9 hectares of land under separate certificates used for the BMW Stadium.
The verdict annulled land-use right certificates No. 314 and 315 issued by the land agency in 2017.
Anies told reporters on Wednesday that the ruling would not impede the project.
“[The project construction] will keep running. Persija [the capital’s soccer club] need not worry. I beg for prayer so that there can be fewer disturbances like this in the future, because this disrupts [the project],” he said. “Our endeavor is to build for all Jakartans, not only for small interests.”
Jakarta Legal Bureau head Yayan Yuhana said the administration would file an appeal by Wednesday. As the plaintiff filed the lawsuit against the BPN, the city administration will act as intervenor-defendant in this case.
“[Construction] will not stop because the ruling does not include postponement [of the project],” Yayan told The Jakarta Post at the City Council building.
The city administration has appointed city-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) as the developer of the stadium, which is intended to be an international standard stadium.
The city held a groundbreaking ceremony for the stadium in 2014, but a similar civil suit was filed by BPH for different certificates, which prevented the city from proceeding with construction on the land at the time.
In 2015, the court then ruled in favor of the administration’s appeal over 10.7 ha of land under certificates 250 and 251.
Last March, Anies held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the stadium.
The plaintiff, however, demanded that Anies halt the project to respect the other party’s land.
“The BPH demands that the Jakarta administration stop the construction of the BMW Stadium and pay respect to BPH’s right over the land,” BPH’s lawyer Damianus H. Renjaan told the Post.
The recent verdict is just part of a long land dispute between the developer and the administration.
The dispute began in 1994 when the North Jakarta BPN issued a ruling declaring the city administration the legal owner of the 6.9-ha plot of land. The administration has to pay for a consignment to the developer.
However, the court annuled the Jakarta administration’s rights over the disputed land on Sept. 7, 2017. In 2018, the administration filed an appeal to the court.
In another case, the North Jakarta State Administrative Court’s panel of judges ruled in favor of the developer by stating that the issuance of certificates No. 314 and 315 were proven to be procedurally and substantially unfair.
Damianus cited the judges’ argument in Tuesday’s hearing, explaining that the certificates were issued nearly a month before the BPN’s ruling in 2017.
He said the underlying problem was actually the land acquisition conducted by the city administration in 1994 which was done without involving them in the consignment ruling.
“BPH understands that every land use right has a social function. Therefore, BPH would not cause an obstruction if the city administration needs the land, as long as the land acquisition is conducted in a proper manner and does not harm BPH,” he said.
The BMW Stadium is built on the BMW Park, which was originally designated as a green area during the city’s Bersih, Manusiawi, Wibawa (Clean, Humane, Dignified) program in the 1960s, but since the early 1990s more than 1,000 families took over the land.
Jakpro plans to turn the 22-ha plot into a soccer stadium built to international standards with a capacity of 82,000.
The project costs Rp 5 trillion (US$350.87 million), and is expected to be completed by 2021.
Jakpro corporate secretary Hani Sumarno said the firm would continue the construction despite the verdict, as per the city administration’s instruction.
