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Residents look skywards in traffic-ridden Jakarta


Residents look skywards in traffic-ridden Jakarta

The Indonesian capital’s legendary traffic jams compel developers and dwellers to aim high with living quarters

Rush hour in Jakarta. (Image credit: Sayy's 365)
Rush hour in Jakarta. (Image credit: Sayy’s 365)

Two hours – that’s how long a typical commute takes in Jakarta, the frenetic Indonesian capital that is home to more than 26 million.

These conditions, along with infrastructural and demographic upheavals in Indonesia, have fomented a shift toward high-rise living in the city.

“Jakarta probably has the worst traffic in the world,” claimed Luke Rowe, head of residential project marketing at Jones Lang LaSalle in Indonesia.

Consequently, city dwellers are keeping a townhouse or apartment downtown in addition to a weekend house in the suburbs, Rowe observed.

Colliers International Indonesia expects apartment supply in the archipelago to grow to 75,083 units by 2018. Three apartment projects were launched in Jakarta in the first quarter of 2016, including 164 branded luxury units in The Residences at The St Regis Jakarta.

More: Why Indonesia’s millennials are demanding more from real estate

In their most recent Year in Review report, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat placed Indonesia second on the list of countries with the most newly completed skyscrapers, or buildings at least 200 metres tall.

Rowe said Indonesia has a 35-million strong consumer class – a number expected to grow to 145 million by 2030.

As part of President Joko Widodo’s pledge to steer Indonesia’s economy toward a 7 percent growth rate by 2019, the Indonesian government has increased spending on infrastructure development projects.

Fitch Ratings recently re-affirmed Indonesia’s investment grade at BBB-/stable outlook.

Source: Property Report