UNJ Holds Topping Off on Tower 1A & 1B Construction of SFD Project

TIMESINDONESIA, JAKARTA – The State University of Jakarta (UNJ) is one of the public universities that received a loan from the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to improve its quality by providing adequate educational facilities for the academic community of UNJ. This effort aims to accelerate UNJ's global reputation. The cooperation between UNJ and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was realized through "The Development and Upgrading of the State University of Jakarta (Phase 2)".

This phase of the development project consists of two components. First, the Hard Component, financed by the SFD loan, includes: (a) Building construction (Civil Works), which involves the building of 4 Educational Buildings and 1 Character Education Development Center (Pusat Pengembangan Pendidikan Karakter); (2) Furniture & Fixtures for 4 Educational Buildings and 1 Character Education Development Center. Second, the Soft Component, financed by the Government of Indonesia (GOI), includes: (a) ICT-Based Curriculum Development; (b) Faculty and Staff Training, such as granting doctoral scholarships for UNJ lecturers both domestically and abroad; and training and professional certification for lecturers and education personnel.

In this project, UNJ has partnered with PT Cakra Manggilingan Jaya as the Detailed Engineering Consultant (DEDC) and PT Deta Decon as the Project Management and Supervision Consultant (PMSC). Meanwhile, for the construction process, UNJ has partnered with PT Jaya Konstruksi Manggala Pratama Tbk. as the contractor.

After signing the contract on March 1, 2022, and groundbreaking on March 14, 2022, Towers 1A and 1B in "The Development and Upgrading of The State University of Jakarta (Phase 2)" project have reached the final stage, marked by the topping-off ceremony on Friday, June 9, 2023, on the 10th floor of Tower 1A.

The topping-off ceremony involved contractors and the SFD UNJ project team and invited relevant parties from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Planning and Development (BAPPENAS), the leaders and heads of UNJ. The event was done symbolically by pouring concrete and releasing balloons to the top of the building as a sign of achievement and progress in the construction process of Towers 1A and 1B at UNJ. This ceremony also encourages increased cooperation and coordination among parties and provides information to the public about the project's progress.

According to Ja'far Amiruddin the SFD UNJ Project Manager, topping off is a stage of construction where the building structure reaches its highest point. This moment is important in the construction process, marked by the placement of the last construction element in the form of concrete pouring at the top of the building. Along with this process, a topping-off ceremony is held by the construction team to mark the achievement of this stage, said Ja'far Amiruddin.

Ja'far Amiruddin added that after the topping off, the project activities will continue to the next construction stages, such as installing facades, completing the interior, installing utilities, and other finishing works. For this project at UNJ, along with the topping-off of Towers 1A and 1B, the construction process for Towers C, D, and the CDCE Building is also happening simultaneously, so it is hoped that the overall stages of this project are in accordance with the planned time. Furthermore, Towers 1A and 1B will be used for learning classrooms, laboratories, studios, workshops, management rooms, meeting rooms, faculty and study program leader rooms, performance rooms, and supporting or auxiliary facilities. The plan for facility management will also be done centrally and integrated for effectiveness and efficiency, said Ja'far Amiruddin.

Meanwhile, Prof. Komarudin, the Rector of UNJ and Project Director of SFD UNJ, also said that the building construction in the project "The Development and Upgrading of The State University of Jakarta (Phase 2)" is based on the concept of an environmentally friendly, integrated, and smart building. The urban environment is one of the considerations for applying the philosophy of urban campus to building construction at UNJ.

Prof. Komarudin added that the advantages of this building's construction include: (1) being the first government building to implement and develop the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) up to 7D (up to building operations and maintenance), including applications that show 3D displays to know the history of equipment acquisition and its maintenance history; (2) applying green building with the standard of the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI); (3) applying energy-efficient buildings, one of which is that in addition to the emergency stairs, more stairs are also provided for moving from one floor to another; (4) Buildings that support renewable new energy, with solar panels on the rooftop; (5) Implementing an integrated information system, where all five buildings are controlled through one control room in the UNJ Data Center; (6) An integrated utilities system, where 5 buildings are supported by 1 powerhouse and 1 ground water tank, thus saving space amidst the limited area at UNJ Campus A; (7) Connection between buildings that is supported by inter-building connecting bridges, so that there will be many interaction spaces built; and (8) Buildings that are disabled-friendly and landscapes that support healthy activities (sports), said Prof. Komarudin.

Prof. Komarudin hopes that through the topping-off ceremony for Towers 1A and 1B of "The Development and Upgrading of The State University of Jakarta (Phase 2)" funded from the loan from the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the SFD, in the future UNJ, which has an Excellent accreditation status and is heading towards PTN-BH, will increasingly improve its quality, achievements, and reputation in order to achieve the vision and mission of UNJ to accelerate towards a globally reputable university, concluded Prof. Komarudin.