Mayoralty to seal old warehouses

Mayoralty to seal old warehouses

JAKARTA (JP): The West Jakarta authorities have sealed 34 out
of the 53 old warehouses in the Kota downtown area due to the
reluctance of their owners to relocate their storage sites.

The sealed warehouses are located on Jl. Roa Malaka, Jl. Tiang
Bendera, Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta and Jl. Pinangsia Raya. The
sealing was done by officers of the West Jakarta public order and
security office in a three-day operation.

The other 19 warehouses will be sealed this week unless the
owners abide by the West Jakarta mayoralty's decision on the
relocation plan, the head of the security office Karsidin said on
Saturday.

Last month, the West Jakarta mayoralty issued the relocation
order, requiring the owners of the 53 warehouses in Kota to move
their storage facilities to other locations, including Kapuk and
Pluit in West Jakarta, Ciracas in East Jakarta and Sunter in
North Jakarta.

The city administration plans to revitalize the downtown area
into an attractive tourist site.

The owners of the warehouses will be allowed to use their
buildings for tourism or entertainment businesses, including
discotheques and restaurants.

Besides protecting the old buildings, the plan is also aimed
at supporting the tourist industry in the area, where there are a
number of prominent museums, including the maritime, wayang
(leather puppet) and Jakarta history museum.

Under the gubernatorial decree, Kota has been earmarked as a
protected area.

Based on the decree, the authorities have asked the owners of
old buildings in Kota not to change the architectural structures
of their buildings. (29)