Bandung gears for Summit

Bandung gears for Summit

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Bandung city, the capital of West Java province, is gearing up to
host the Golden Jubilee of the Asia Africa Conference on April
24. Employees at the city administration have been cleaning up
the city's streets for some days now, and street vendors have
been also been cleared out.

The police on Monday cleared the thoroughfares of street
singers, telling them to abandon their "profession", especially
during the Asian-African Summit. Chief of Bandung municipal
police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistiyono, claimed on Tuesday that
street singers could cause disturbances in the city as they often
forcefully requested money from drivers and bus passengers.

"We expect that Bandung will be safe during the big summit,"
said Sulistiyono.

Sulis said that some 3,500 police and Indonesian military
(TNI) personnel would be deployed to ensure security. Security
measures will be tightened starting a week prior to the summit,
said Sulistiyono.

West Java Deputy Governor Nu'man Abdul Hakim said that some
3,000 domestic and foreign guests would be attending. At least 45
heads of states had also confirmed their attendance.

Summit infrastructure construction has been underway for some
time, and is 80 percent complete. Construction is expected to be
finished by early April.

Main thoroughfares such as Jl. Asia Africa, Jl. Braga and Jl.
Merdeka have been repairs, as has Husein Sastranegara Airport.

The West Java provincial administration had earmarked a lot of
money for infrastructure renovation and construction ahead of the
Asian-African Summit, according to Nu'man.

The administration earmarked Rp 10 billion (US$1.1 million)
for the extension of the Husein Sastranegara Airport runway, Rp
2.5 billion for the renovation of airport buildings, and Rp 7
billion for road repairs.