City Park Agency embarks on a regreening project
JAKARTA (JP): The City Park Agency will launch a major regreening project next year, focusing primarily on 17 "slum" areas in the city.
The project will attempt to establish parks in these locations where sufficient space is available or to plant more trees where space is not available.
Agency Chief Dadang Ruskandar said on Wednesday that the parks will be designed to be community centers where local residents can gather and relax.
The parks' construction and maintenance will be fully financed by the agency.
"Each location will receive Rp 200 million (US$21,052) as an initial investment," Dadang said adding that the money would be allocated from the maintenance funds of already established parks which will be maintained by private companies.
Most of the initial setup funds, between Rp 120 million to Rp 150 million, will go towards acquiring the land for the parks.
The 17 locations were identified as Petojo Selatan, Galur and Karang Anyar subdistricts in Central Jakarta, two locations in the Tanjung Priok subdistrict and one in the Papanggo subdistrict in North Jakarta, the Tegal Alur subdistrict and three locations at Kapuk subdistrict in West Jakarta. Parks will also be established at the Grogol Utara subdistrict and three locations at the Kebayoran Lama Utara subdistrict in South Jakarta, along with the Klender subdistrict and two locations in Rawa Bunga subdistrict in East Jakarta.
The office has reportedly identified land plots in each location and most of these are said to be empty or to belong to the state. The size of the plots vary from 25 square meters to 600 square meters.
"We are still awaiting input from the general public and especially from non-government organizations to establish the most appropriate concepts for the projects. We urge the public to give us information or ideas on this," Dadang remarked.
"We also hope for the public's awareness of the need to really take care of the parks. We have already established two sample projects at Pejompongan subdistrict, where the Community Unit Top Leader is in charge of the park's maintenance," he added.
Dadang also said that seven companies have responded to the City Administration's offer to privatize the maintenance of parts of the Semanggi cloverleaf park area in the heart of the city.
The seven companies were said to be PT. Kawan Lama Sejahtera, PT. Hantar Mandiri, PT. Kinarya Inti Management, PT. Lavenia, PT. Sunda West, PT. Sandya Nugratama, PT. Dian Group.
Under the proposed arrangement, which was introduced some six months ago, the companies -- in return for maintaining the parks -- would be allowed to place their name on the signboard in their respective areas of management.
The signboards would be similar to advertising billboards placed on major city streets.
Jakarta used to be home to 529 parks covering an area of 177.29 square kilometers.
But the number has dwindled in recent tears to about 220 parks. Most of the parks have been converted into trading sites, gas stations, community centers and police posts.
"In the 2001 financial year, we estimate that around 20 to 30 parks will be privatized," Dadang added.
The next parks due to be offered to private companies are Patung Arjuna Wijaya Park, Jl.Imam Bonjol Park, Patung Kartini Park, Suropati Park, Lapangan Banteng park, Situ Lembang Park, Jl. M.H. Thamrin Park and Monas Park in Central Jakarta, Jl. Rasuna Said Park, Melawai Park and Jl. Panglima Polim Park in South Jakarta. (dja)