The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says the current Australian embassy in Indonesia does not meet security requirements, is seriously overcrowded and vulnerable to terrorist attacks from a busy main road. But the new $415million embassy planned for Jakarta will have improved security as well as a roof-top pool, cabana, running track and tennis and basketball courts. The new compound would also have 32 residential units to accommodate essential staff needed to run the embassy in a security crisis.
The new embassy will be built on a 40,500sqm block in the Patra Kuningan district of Jakarta, close to the existing embassy. The current embassy was not set back far enough from the road to provide adequate security.
In 2004, a terrorist bomb attack outside the gates left 11 people dead, while last month's suicide bombing at the JW Marriott hotel, which killed three Australians, has put the spotlight back on security. The new embassy is designed to be ''blast resistant'' and will include an earth mound around the perimeter to absorb bomb damage. Construction will begin next year and the embassy ready for diplomats in 2014.
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