NEWS
Penulis : Wataru Suzuki | Jumat, 23 Mei 2014 | 12:00 JST | READ FROM SOURCE
Developer Lippo Karawaci reveals mega project near Jakarta

JAKARTA -- Major Indonesian property developer Lippo Karawaci on Thursday unveiled the master plan for its biggest project ever, to be built in the outskirts of Jakarta.

Dubbed the Millennium Village, the project will be part of the company's Lippo Village development, a satellite town located in Tangerang, about 30 kilometers west of central Jakarta. Occupying an area of 70 hectares, or roughly around 100 soccer fields, it will include a shopping mall with more than 450 stores, three office towers, a five-star hotel, a hospital and high-rise apartments.

Designed by Singapore-based DP Architect, Millennium Village aims to avoid Jakarta's notoriously heavy traffic. It will feature a 1.5km pedestrian pathway so that residents can go shopping or to work on foot, and 71% of the land will be designated green space, including rooftop gardens for its office and residential towers.

The company said the value of the site based on current property prices will total 200 trillion rupiah ($18 billion). It will be Lippo's most expensive project to date. The entire project will take around 20 years to complete, with the first construction phase expected to finish as early as 2022.

Residential apartments will be funded by pre-sales, while the rest of the costs will be covered by Lippo Karawaci's internal cash flow and capital and by dividends from its Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts. The company did not disclose details on construction costs and impact on its future financial performance.

The aggressive move comes despite signs of a cool-down in Jakarta's property market, triggered by the central bank's decision last September to raise the minimum down payment for mortgages. Jopy Rusli, director for Lippo Karawaci's residential subsidiary Lippo Homes, said demand remains strong among the country's fast-rising middle class, the new project's main target.

"Pre-sales for 240 units of our first residential tower, which sold for 2-3 billion rupiah each, have already sold out," he said. "We expect property prices to be much higher when the project is completed."