Foreign investors eye Sunda Kelapa harbor

Foreign investors eye Sunda Kelapa harbor

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

Numerous foreign businesspeople have expressed interest in
investing in and managing potential tourist attractions in
northern Jakarta, but first want the city administration to
demonstrate its commitment to infrastructure development.

Bandar Jaya Foundation deputy chairman Setiawati said
businesspeople from the United States, the Netherlands, Portugal
and Singapore were looking into opportunities to manage heritage
sites currently controlled by the Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourist
Management Board (BP Sunda Kelapa).

The Bandar Jaya Foundation is a nonprofit organization dealing
with the development and preservation of heritage sites. Its
affiliated company, PT Segara Siti Cunda Celapa, markets
heritage sites to potential investors.

Setiawati declined to identify the businesspeople, but said
one U.S. firm was interested in investing in the restoration of
Sunda Kelapa port and its surrounding area in Penjaringan
district, North Jakarta.

"If the administration is serious about developing the area, I
am optimistic the project will be successful because there are
many heritage sites that can be developed into points of interest
for tourists," Setiawati told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The head of BP Sunda Kelapa, Martono Yuwono, announced earlier
that Governor Sutiyoso's administration would begin a renovation
project on Sunday Kelapa port in conjunction with the city's
477th anniversary on June 22.

City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya confirmed the project, saying
the administration and the City Council would discuss funding for
the project when they deliberated the 2005 city budget.

Setiawati said the project had also received vocal support
from the central government. She said Coordinating Minister for
the Economy Dorodjatun Kuncoro-Jakti had met with city officials
to discuss the issue.

Separately, the head of the preservation division at the
Office of the State Minister for Culture and Tourism, Hardini
Sumono, welcomed the plan, but stressed that the administration
had to have a clear concept of how to develop the area.

She said any development of Sunda Kelapa and the surrounding
area must not ignore the preservation of old sites, which were
the selling points for the area as a historical and cultural
tourist destination.

"I hope the city has a comprehensive concept for the proposed
restoration. I think everyone welcomes the plan, although
progress has been very slow compared to other countries," she
told the Post.

The plan to develop Sunda Kelapa port began in 1990 when the
Jakarta governor issued Decree No. 1072/1990 on the restoration
and development of heritage sites on the 81 hectares of land
encompassing the port and its immediate surroundings.

In 1993, another decree was issued to include the 200-year-old
Luar Batang Mosque and the 9.6 hectares of land on which it sat
in the Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourist restoration and development
project.

Among the heritage sites and points of interest in the Sunda
Kelapa maritime tourism area are Sunda Kelapa port, the Fish
Market (Pasar Ikan), Lookout Tower (Menara Syahbandar), numerous
historic buildings and the other heritage sites in the Thousand
Island regency.

I-Box

Chronology of the legal basis for Sunda Kelapa restoration plan

1. Gubernatorial Decree No. 1070/1990 on the restoration of
heritage sites and the development of maritime tourism on 81
hectares of land in northern Jakarta. The area includes Sunda
Kelapa port and the islands of Onrust, Cipir, Bidadari, Kelor and
Untung Jawa.
2. Gubernatorial Decree No. 1621/1991 on the establishment of the
Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourist Management Board.
3. Gubernatorial Decree No. 1622/1991 on the membership of the
Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourist Management Board.
4. Gubernatorial Decree No. 120/1993 on the addition of the 9.6
hectares of land containing the Luar Batang Mosque to the Sunda
Kelapa Maritime Tourism Zone.