TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Acting Jakarta Governor Soni Sumarsono said that the Jakarta administration has canceled its plan to acquire a plot of land formerly used as the embassy of the United Kingdom in Central Jakarta.

“If the status [of the land] is not clear yet, the Jakarta administration will not purchase it,” he said during his visit to Pramuka Island, Thousand Islands, on Friday, December 9, 2016.

Soni revealed that the land was owned by the central government, but later was leased to the UK embassy. The embassy’s operational office has been relocated to Patra Kuningan, South Jakarta. The issue was that the UK embassy claimed to have a land ownership certificate.

Therefore, he said that the land acquisition process was then canceled to avoid issues with the land purchase.

Soni explained that the Jakarta administration was in communication with the National Land Agency (BPN) to clarify the status of the land.

“We also asked for help from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to clarify the land acquisition process,” he added.

Earlier, inactive Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama initiated a plan to acquire the UK embassy’s land back in 2013, when he was serving as Jakarta deputy governor. Ahok planned to turn the land into a demonstration center like the Pandang Istana Park which was recently opened this year.

FRISKI RIANA