Emaar dumps US$600 million Lombok resort project
JAKARTA – Bali Update (www.balidiscovery.com) carries a report this week that a massive US$600 million mega-resort planned for Lombok is in jeopardy.
Quoting the Jakarta Globe, Bali Update said the Lombok project of shopping, recreation areas, golf courses and luxury hotels on a 1,200 hectare site was a “pet project” of Indonesia’s vice president, Jusuf Kalla, who personally invited Dubai property giant Emaar Properties to spearhead the investment.
Emaar canceled the joint venture with state-owned Bali Tourism Development Corp. after it claimed the government appeared incapable of fulfilling a number of preconditions for the project, particularly regarding land acquisition.
Emaar also hinted that too many officials were looking for kickbacks and bribes.
Speaking to the Jakarta Globe about Emaar’s allegations of government ineptitude, Purbaya Yudi Sadewa of the state-owned Danareksa Research Institute said, “It’s a signal for foreign investors to be very cautious about investing here.
“It will make people more reluctant to press ahead with their projects, and maybe even convince some to pull out.â€
Emaar itself is facing serious financial challenges amid the global financial crisis.
The state-backed company suffered a heavy net loss in the fourth quarter of last year due to major write-downs on its US operations.
The reversal caused the company’s full-year net profit to slump by more than half.
Ian Jarrett
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