Agnes Anya, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration aims to provide affordable apartments for low-income residents in the capital that are integrated with markets or bus terminals.
"These apartments, however, will be set aside for low- to middle-income people," Jakarta Government Buildings and Settlement Agency head Arifin told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The plan would adopt the concept behind an existing pilot project for integrated low-cost apartments (rusunawa) in Pasar Rumput, South Jakarta, which is currently being carried out by the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry in coordination with the Jakarta administration.
Following the pilot project, the administration last year planned to realize similar projects at 11 other markets, like Pasar Minggu Market in South Jakarta, Sunter Market in North Jakarta and Blok G Market in Central Jakarta.
With a "nicer" apartment concept, Arifin explained, officials wanted to build housing facilities that were spacious and affordable for low-income people whose economic situations had improved, in addition to young people with middle incomes.
The administration must also provide housing facilities for evictees in the capital amid a lack of rusunawa.
"We need to empty the apartments so they can be used by evictees who have yet to own houses," said Arifin, adding that there were still "a lot of evictees who have not been relocated." However, he failed to provide exact figures.
According to Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) data, 113 evictions occurred in Jakarta in 2015 alone. The incidents affected 8,145 families, as well as 6,283 businesses.
Meanwhile, within the first six months of 2016, at least four mass evictions were carried out for various reasons ranging from flood mitigation to public order and tourism, increasing the number of evictees in the capital by hundreds.
However, it has been reported that not all evicted residents were relocated, amid issues including a lack of rusunawa.
The administration recently discussed the idea in relation to Senen Market, Central Jakarta, given that the market will soon undergo renovations following a fire that damaged around 1,000 kiosks last January.
Jakarta secretary Saefullah said the administration planned to rebuild the burned sections of the market and integrate them with new apartment blocks.
The housing facilities, he said, would be prioritized for low-cost apartment residents who wanted to move to nicer buildings. "[However,] other citizens will also have a chance by applying to the administration," he added.
Separately, PT Jaya Konstruksi Manggala Pratama, which is responsible for the Senen Market construction, said the company had yet to decide whether the market would be rebuilt with apartments.
"We have yet to make such a plan as the police are still investigating the cause of the fire," said PT Jaya Konstruksi Manggala Pratama president director Sutopo Kristanto. "Moreover, we are still prioritizing providing relocation sites for the vendors."
Sutopo said the police were expected to finish their investigation by the end of the month.
In March, the company will conduct an internal examination of the building 's structure and technical utilities in cooperation with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
"The examination with ITB may be finished by the end of March. After that, we will discuss the plan regarding Senen Market. We are yet to know whether it will be renovated or rebuilt or redeveloped," Sutopo said, refuting Saefullah's statement.