D

espite construction having started in May 2014, a toll road that would connect Antasari in South Jakarta with Depok and Bogor in West Java still faces resistance from locals who have not agreed to sell their land.

On Wednesday evening, work was continuing at the toll road construction site in Pangkalan Jati Baru, Depok, West Java. However, several houses in the area still stand beside the construction.

Rudi Banuya, 63, said he had no intention to sell his house to the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry if they were not willing to give '€œreasonable'€ compensation.

'€œNot only me, there are around 30 families in my community who are yet to move out,'€ Rudi told The Jakarta Post.

Rudi said he would be more than happy to find middle ground with the ministry in the land acquisition dispute. However, he said that no one from the ministry was willing to meet with him or other residents.

According to Rudi, in 2012 he received a written offer for his property at the rate of Rp 2 million (US$200) per square meter.

Rudi said he turned down the offer not only because it provided inaccurate details about the condition of his land, but also because it was far from the current market price.

'€œThey said my land was 350 square meters without any buildings, but in fact it is 464 square meters with a house that has been my home for years,'€ he said.

Another resident Budi Raharjo, a retired civil servant whose house is surrounded by drilling work, said that several years ago a woman who claimed to be a representative from the ministry called him and offered to buy his 450 square meter land at a rate of Rp 4 million (US$300) per square meter.

Budi said he turned the offer down as he felt it was made in an unofficial and dubious manner. He also considered it to be far below the market price.

However, no new offer has made since, he said.

According to Budi, the residents would be willing to sell their houses if the ministry made an offer between Rp 10 to 12 million even though that is still slightly below market price. '€œWe aren'€™t trying to make a profit here, we just need reasonable compensation and [the ministry'€™s] good faith to sit down and talk to us'€ he said.

He said what made him even more upset was that the project operator had already begun construction on the acquired land and local residents lives were disrupted by the noise and dust from the heavy equipment that operates all day long.

'€œMy family has been really disturbed by the construction, so we temporarily moved to my son'€™s house nearby,'€ he said.

Dionisius Widjanto, project manager of the toll road operator PT Citra Waspphutowa, acknowledged that the construction had received varying responses from local residents. However, he said he had minimized the environmental impact as much as possible.

Although some land is yet to be acquired by the government, he said that the company was optimistic that the first part of the 5.8 kilometers-long construction would be finished in July 2016. '€œAs soon as the first part is finished, the toll road from Antasari to Brigif Road in Depok can be opened,'€ he said.

The Antasari-Depok-Bogor toll road construction are divided into two stages: the 12 km section from Antasari in South Jakarta to Sawangan in Depok and from Sawangan to Bojong Gede in Bogor.