Property Development Indonesia: West Jakarta Gaining Popularity

The Jakarta-Tangerang toll road is one of the key access (or exit) ways for those who live in - and around Tangerang (West Java) - but work in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta. The presence of this (arterial) toll road boosted property development in West Jakarta. Over the past two decades several big malls and various apartment and office tower complexes have been developed in the area close to this toll road. Some businessmen now prefer to live in (or just outside) West Jakarta and thus moved to (or started) an office in West Jakarta.

Actually, West Jakarta has a great strategic location (although traffic congestion can make traveling very unpleasant): it is connected to Central Jakarta, South Jakarta, North Jakarta, as well as the Tangerang area (including Soekarno-Hatta International Airport).

Ten years ago West Jakarta was perceived as rather "dirty" and underdeveloped (perhaps similar to the way East Jakarta is seen now) but over the past ten years the local government and private developers managed to turn West Jakarta into a cleaner and better organized place (for Indonesian, well... Jakarta standards).

Traditionally, South Jakarta and Central Jakarta are perceived as the "elite centers". For example, many foreigners, who work in Central Jakarta, settle in the Kemang area in South Jakarta. Recently, however, West Jakarta started to become a rival to the status of Central and South Jakarta due to the presence of more and more big integrated property projects. However, the big companies currently still prefer to have their office in the heart of the "Golden Triangle" (this triangle comprises Jakarta's Sudirman, Thamrin and Kuningan).

Podomoro City deserves attention. This integrated superblock, owned by listed property developer Agung Podomoro Land, covers 11 apartment towers (Central Park Residences, Royal Mediterania Garden and Mediterania Garden 2), 85 shophouses (Garden Shopping Arcade), one office tower (APL Tower), an exclusive shopping mall (central Park mall) and a five star hotel with 317 rooms (Pullman Hotel), all on a piece of land of around 22 hectares.

Read more: Overview of Indonesia's Property Sector

And it doesn't end there. Agung Podomoro Land is now busy completing Soho Podomoro City, a new superblock that is connected to Podomoro City through a sky bridge. Singaporean architects were flown into Jakarta for the design of this new block. On 9 November 2016 this project made headlines as the apartment tower caught fire, damaging a large part of the project.

Research conducted by Collier International Indonesia shows that West Jakarta is the location where most new apartments are to be added in the next three years. Besides Agung Sedayu Group's Taman Anggrek Residences and Agung Podormoro Land's Neo Soho, there is also the Daan Mogot City project in West Jakarta. This (mixed use) superblock will consist of a total of 30 apartment towers (built over the next decade).

In the first three quarters of 2016 a total of 77,128 new apartment units were added in Jakarta, the majority being in West Jakarta and South Jakarta (due to good access to toll roads).

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