"Having a good master plan as a township where industry harmonises with community and nature has been a crucial component of that success," says Meow Chong Loh, Lippo Cikarang's president and CEO. "Our sense of accomplishment comes from knowing we develop residences where people can feel at home; commercial areas with a branded image and products that attract customers; and a thriving light-medium industrial park in a township with good infrastructure and growing amenities."

Another factor behind the township's success is Indonesia's largest property developer, Lippo Group. Recognised among the best of its kind locally and across Asia, the Indonesian business leader has grown alongside the country as a steward whose passion and hard work impact the lives of many. The group has a diverse portfolio covering the property, retail, media and education sectors, and has a regional presence in China and several other Asian countries.

Lippo Cikarang's ability to turn roughly 3,000 hectares of land into valuable developments has positioned the township as a pillar of the regional economy, which is expected to flourish further alongside the national growth. As of last year, Lippo Cikarang has allocated prime industrial land to more than 820 factories such as Hankook, Danone Dairy Indonesia and Kia Motors.

Amid the relaxed global economic performance, Indonesia maintained a stable gross domestic product growth at 5.7 per cent last year. Mitigation measures made by the government helped in controlling inflation, avoiding asset bubbles and boosting investor confidence in the local market.

These conditions have motivated Lippo Cikarang to step up its efforts as a pillar of the regional economy by adopting a paradigm shift - at the core of which is the township's transformation into a new central business district (CBD) in Cikarang.

Next urban nexus on the rise

Recognising continued growth within the Cikarang Industrial Corridor - shored up by a vibrant national economy, Lippo Cikarang is shifting its focus from industrial estate development to more and higher profile housing construction and commercial projects. This newly chartered course will allow Lippo Cikarang to support its existing industrial zones and surrounding industrial parks, and accommodate the imminent influx of new residential, commercial and business customers in the region.

"This year marks a paradigm shift for Lippo Cikarang as we formalise our greater focus on commercial and residential developments with the unveiling of our planned central business district," Loh says. "We envision developing a welcoming city centre in the eastern corridor of Jakarta, serving as a hub for greater Jakarta and Bandung. It will be a full-featured urban nexus and positioned as the best place to be outside of Jakarta, offering all business, leisure and residential conveniences in one place."

Lippo Cikarang started to take the initial steps towards realising its smart and green CBD concept last year, leveraging the expertise it gained from successfully developing and growing a comprehensive industrial township that is acclaimed for its first-rate infrastructure and supporting services and adoption of the world's best practices in terms of green belting, zone planning and traffic calming.

"The CBD will be developed as a smart, green city replete with world-class facilities and amenities to cater to the growing expatriate community in the eastern Jakarta corridor, as well as Indonesia's middle- to high-income market," Loh says. "This would be the flagship large-scale, smart city in the country, serving as the gateway to seven industrial estates in the Bekasi region."

Collaborating with a number of key partners, Lippo Cikarang aims to promote smart living to achieve an environmentally responsive urban surrounding in the new city centre. It will invest in state-of-the-art technologies to sustain a green-concept city and efficiently manage facilities for communications, sewage, water supply, solid waste disposal and security.

Enhancing the attractiveness of investing in the CBD is the opening of the Jakarta-Cikampek Km 34.7 toll exit and access road in April this year. A joint project between Lippo Cikarang and Jababeka, the toll gate provides an alternative, yet direct route to the CBD and Lippo Cikarang township.

The new city centre's master plan entails the development of a non-industrial, integrated area on a 320-hectare plot next to Lippo Cikarang. The mixed-use superblock is targeted for completion within 15 to 20 years at a total investment cost of between 6 trillion rupiah (HK$4 billion) and 10 trillion rupiah. In the first phase, Lippo Cikarang will develop 13 hectares of the CBD area that will be operational in the next four to five years.

Residential projects will include high-end apartments and condominiums and Soho properties combining vibrant living and shopping enclaves. Lippo Cikarang plans to launch the first CBD project in the third quarter of this year - the 61-storey Iconic Tower consisting of apartments, commercial offices, hotels and an exhibition centre. "We are open to opportunities for collaboration and strategic alliances to hasten the development of the Cikarang CBD," Loh says.

The city centre will also house modern support facilities, such as shopping malls, restaurants, hospitals, dormitories and family-friendly spaces, along with rental offices and commercial infrastructure. Loh revealed plans to locate schools within the CBD, including one international school, one Japanese school, a technical training college and a sub-campus of the Pelita Harapan University.

Lippo Cikarang will set up multicultural centres within the planned office towers and multi-use commercial areas to highlight the marriage of modern architecture and traditional heritage. With the aim of "bringing the world" to the CBD, Lippo Cikarang will put up targeted restaurants and entertainment centres specific for Japanese, Korean and Chinese residents and investors - another way of catering to the growing multicultural populace of Cikarang.

Guided by the Indonesian concepts of aman, meaning security, and nyaman, meaning conducive environment, Lippo Cikarang is unwavering in its commitment to create a secure, conducive environment for its residents, clients and visitors to live, work and play.

Work, live and play

Living up to its concept of "work, live and play", Lippo Cikarang offers residents, workers and visitors the experience of a distinctive ambience for every area of the township.

The residential segment, for instance, features luxurious, green and clean landscapes, wide well-lit roads, and finely constructed houses and condominium apartments. Last year, Lippo Cikarang launched a mix of high-rise apartment units and landed houses in a variety of styles, including the Trivium Terrace Apartments, Ambrosia and Acacia Garden Extension.

Recognised for its exceptional projects, Lippo Cikarang received the 2013 Green Property Award for Favourite Residential and Green Transportation from Housing Estate Magazine. It was also conferred the 2013 Property Award by Indonesia Property Magazine.

The township's commercial area, comprising more than 892 shophouses, also boosted its appeal to local and international guests last year with the opening of the Makino Showroom and the Telaga Seafood Restaurant. Other attractions include the WaterBom Park, the Citywalk and Easton Commercial Center.

Unparalleled by other industrial zones in the region, Lippo Cikarang's commercial division is set to offer a wider selection of small, medium and large commercial spaces, within indoor and outdoor shopping centres. Spurred by a growing demand for mixed-use properties, it also plans to launch more projects such as the Residential Ambrosia Arcade, Cosmo Center and Cosmo Center Extension.

For its industrial district, Lippo Cikarang has found fresh opportunities in providing high value-added services to potential land purchasers, while focusing on the existing industrial clients within the many Lippo Cikarang Delta Industrial Zones. Leveraging its experience and ability to provide land and building, document processing assistance and logistics, the township is able to give potential buyers a convenient and speedy operational start-up.

This advantage was demonstrated at the grand launch of the 5.2-hectare Japanese SMEs Center, which was able to be fully operational soon after the facility's completion. The ready-to-use facility was especially developed for local and global small and medium enterprises. While supporting the smaller yet necessary operations within the automotive cluster in the region, it is projected to pave the way for interested businesses in other sectors.

"This project highlights Lippo Cikarang's commitment to turnkey operations, with entrepreneurs able to move in and operate - on the same day," Loh says. "With a land bank and a wealth of construction know-how to draw upon, domestic and international companies can take advantage of our strong infrastructure for light-medium industry within all of the 5 Delta Industrial Estates."

Launched in partnership with Tokyo-headquartered telecoms leader Forval, the centre is envisioned to help Japanese investors of all sizes to develop their business in Indonesia.

Since it opened, the centre has already welcomed seven companies, including key industry players Summit Electrical Steel Processing, Katsuyamaseiki KKB, Kobayu Trading Indonesia, Tsujikawa and Nihon Haken.

"Mirroring the kind of synergy and dynamism that Lippo Cikarang represents, the Japanese SMEs Center is set to open more doors for business and investment for Japanese entrepreneurs seeking a vibrant, sustainable region," Loh says. "We are also thrilled to see how it grows to contribute further to Indonesia's economy."

Last year also witnessed the opening of Hankook Tire Indonesia and the development of smaller multifunction structures combining office, shop-house and storage facilities within the Delta Commercial Park.

"As Lippo Cikarang moves through a new paradigm towards a role as a central business district, the industrial division will continue to ensure that existing clients get the maximum benefit from the strategic development of existing industrial areas, as well as the support of Lippo Cikarang's residential and commercial complexes," Loh says.

"The division will continue to offer industrial land with exceptional value-added features for domestic and overseas investors who seek to benefit from Indonesia's continuing economic growth."