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.