Stalled progress: Traffic congestion in Jakarta. The Meikarta development has been touted as an ‘antidote’ to high-density Jakarta. — Reuters
Jakarta: Lippo Group has pledged to resolve the problems surrounding the long-stalled Meikarta project within four months, according to the Public Housing and Settlements Ministry.
The ministry’s residential areas director-general, Fitrah Nur, said last Wednesday that he had called Lippo Group chairman John Riady and had been assured that the conglomerate vowed to resolve the issue. “I called John in yesterday,” said Fitrah. “He assured me, ‘Okay, sir, we’re ready to resolve this’.”
Fitrah said he had met with John at the ministry’s offices in Central Jakarta last Tuesday to discuss a path forward for the troubled property development.
However, he noted that resolving the issue would not be straightforward, given the number of stakeholders involved.
“This is a complex matter,” Fitrah said, noting that local governments handled permits, the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry oversaw land issues and banks controlled the financing aspects. “We need to consolidate all these stakeholders to find a solution.”
Lippo Group’s US$21bil Meikarta mega project located in Bekasi regency in West Java, has been mired in legal disputes with buyers over delayed property handovers and allegations of corruption.
Once touted as the Riady family empire’s largest venture, Meikarta was first unveiled in 2016 and marketed to aspirational Indonesians as the antidote to Jakarta, the country’s notoriously congested capital.
It was meant to house 225,000 apartments and 1.5 million square metres of commercial space within commuting distance of Jakarta and Bandung in West Java. The project came under investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in 2018 over bribes to the Bekasi regent for land permits.
In 2022, hundreds of buyers, left in limbo for years and facing prolonged uncertainty over their investments, demanded refunds.
Last Tuesday, Public Housing and Settlements Minister Maruarar “Ara” Sirait had set a deadline for Lippo Group representatives to meet with affected buyers last Thursday to finalise the resolution process.
During mediation efforts led by the Housing Ministry last Thursday, the deal came down to two options for affected buyers: a full refund or the completion and handover of their apartments as promised, with a four-month deadline set for the resolution, Kompas reported.
The four-month time frame allowed for verifying the authenticity of documents and preventing unauthorised claims, Fitrah noted.
Meanwhile, buyers opting for completed units would receive them without extra charges.
PT Mahkota Sentosa Utama, a subsidiary of PT Lippo Cikarang and the developer responsible for the Meikarta project, said in a statement last Thursday that progress was on track according to the agreed schedule.
“The company’s leadership appreciates and acknowledges the ministry’s initiatives, as well as the input from all relevant stakeholders,” the company said.
The company reported to the ministry last Thursday that 11,224 housing units had been built in Meikarta and handed over as of March 26, with 4,904 more scheduled to be completed between April and December for a total of 16,128 units by the end of the year.
According to the plan, another 1,647 units are to be handed over in 2026 and the remaining 722 in 2027, the company noted. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
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