Buildings around Monas must be painted white

Buildings around Monas must be painted white

JAKARTA (JP): All buildings facing the National Monument (Monas) park in Central Jakarta will have to be painted white.

The head of the Medan Merdeka park project advisory team, Muhammad Danisworo, said yesterday that this is part of the plan to engineer Medan Merdeka area to aesthetically support the park.

Danisworo said white buildings will help beautify the park because they will blend in with their surroundings.

"The area around Monas park is not integrated with the park, it doesn't support the park. It is important to create a certain landscape that suits the park," Danisworo said.

The Medan Merdeka areas consist of Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Utara, Barat and Timur. There are many office buildings, both private and government owned, in the areas.

The government is handling the project to renovate and beautify Monas park, to be renamed Medan Merdeka park, and change it into a city "forest" in which various kinds of trees will be planted on 60 hectares of the 80 hectares available.

Lungs of capital

Various tree species have so far been planted in the park to make the area the lungs of the sprawling capital.

Various facilities, such as parking lots and a commercial center will be built under the park.

The underground parking lots and an open air theater will be built in the south and west parts of the monument.

Another objective of the project is to control the development in the surrounding areas.

Danisworo said that the project, which began in 1994, is expected to be completed in 2005. It is being financed by the city and state budget and donations from the public.

Governor Surjadi urged the advisory team to integrate the project with the city's future subway system, seeing as the subway system will pass through the area.

He foresees a possibility that the project will need a special underground channel from the subway station to Gambir station. (yns)