City eyes Sunda Kelapa renovation

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

The city administration plans to restore the Sunda Kelapa port in North Jakarta as the first step in a major project to turn the old city into a prestigious tourist destination.

The head of the Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourism Body, Martono Yuwono, said Governor Sutiyoso was scheduled to launch the Sunda Kelapa restoration project during the city's 477th anniversary in June.

"The restoration of Sunda Kelapa harbor is aimed at erasing the slum image of the harbor and other heritage sites in the surrounding area. I believe the area will become a prestigious tourist destination after the renovation," Martono told The Jakarta Post recently.

City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya confirmed the project, saying the city had held a number of workshops and seminars to gather input on how to restore Sunda Kelapa and surrounding historic sites.

Sunda Kelapa port in Penjaringan district dates back to the Hindu kingdoms of the 12th century. It was also a major port during the Islamic kingdoms and the colonial era. The port is still used today by thousands of traditional wooden ships.

Ritola said the restoration project was expected to encourage private companies, particularly those in the tourist industry, to invest in the area.

He said the administration would allocate funds to improve infrastructure like pedestrian bridges, sidewalks and roads in the area, as well as to clean up the rivers and the sea at the harbor.

"In short, the administration will improve all infrastructure in the area, while private companies are expected to invest in tourist facilities like restaurants, hotels and souvenir centers," Ritola told the Post.

He said the money for the project would come from the 2005 city budget, but he declined to name a specific figure.

Martono said the Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourism Body supervised dozens of heritage sites, including Sunda Kelapa port, the Fish Market (Pasar Ikan), Lookout Tower (Menara Syahbandar) and other heritage sites in the Thousand Island regency.

He said that eventually, the city hoped to create a 12- kilometer historic tourist corridor from Muara Baru in North Jakarta to Glodok in West Jakarta, with hundreds of old houses and buildings being turned into points of interest all the way down to the National Monument in Central Jakarta.

Along the corridor, according to Martono, tourists would find sites from various historical eras, from the Hindu kingdoms to the early stages of the country's independence, as well as information about a number of nations involved in Indonesia's history, like the Netherlands, Britain, Portugal, France and China.

Many countries have successfully marketed their heritage sites to attract large numbers of foreign tourists.

"We have everything they have. It depends on how we develop this unpolished diamond in the northern part of the city," Martono said, adding that the opening of the busway corridor from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta would help in the development of the old city.