Karet Bivak cemetery facelift

Karet Bivak cemetery facelift

JAKARTA (JP): The refurbishment of the Karet Bivak public
cemetery in Central Jakarta, scheduled to start next year, is
designed to create an open park, not office buildings or other
business facilities, an official said yesterday.

H. Sjafril Zainuddin, head of the City Funeral Office, said
that under the project, which is projected to cost about Rp 2.6
billion (US$1.18 million), a park will be established along Jl.
Penjernihan and Jl. KH. Mas Mansyur.

"In the park there will also be a fountain, a parking lot, a
gate and an office of the cemetery management," he said.

The project is part of the agency's plan to change the
function of public cemeteries in the capital from solely burial
sites to green and scenic areas which can also function as water
catchments.

He said that in a bid to make way for the project, the
contents of 3,224 graves at Karet Bivak have been moved to other
cemeteries since Aug. 25. (hhr)