KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. Since becoming the location of postelection riots in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, Tanah Abang, the largest textile market in Southeast Asia, has suffered losses of Rp 200 billion (US$13.8 million) per day as a result of its closure, which will last until Saturday.

City-owned PD Pasar Jaya president director Arief Nasrudin said some 14,000 vendors from Block A to Block G had been affected by the riots, which started on Tuesday night.

“The turnover in Tanah Abang is some Rp 200 billion per day,” Arief said as quoted by kompas.com, adding that the figure could be higher as people were preparing for the Idul Fitri celebration.

“From this morning we have checked the area and there is still a lot of rubble, burned tires and glass fragments. Because of that the vendors have decided to close the market temporarily [until May 25],” Arief said on Thursday.

He said that the company did not force the vendors to close, but they themselves preferred not to operate, with only a few vegetable and meat vendors in Block G choosing to open.

“What’s important is that we have coordinated with local authorities. As soon as conditions are safe enough, we will inform the vendors,” Arief said.

He hoped that the situation would soon return to normal so the vendors could continue operating and make profits during the Ramadan month.

At 11.30 a.m. Thursday, no business activities were seen in the market, with only a few security officers seen guarding the blocks of the market.

Access to the market buildings was limited, with only rolling doors opened to provide access to the parking area.

However, some street vendors were seen in the area. 

Editor: Wahyu T.Rahmawati