More fund needed to widen sidewalk on Jl. Thamrin
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The sidewalk along Jl. Thamrin is being widened step-by-step, while 12 of 32 sections are finished, the city administration says the project will not be completed until the year's end.
In addition, it says that Rp 10 billion (US$1.10 million), which was allocated for the project, is not enough money to see it through.
"When we designed the project we had counted on financial support from private parties. But, the reality is that the administration has been left with financing most of the work," Assistant to the City Secretary for Development Affairs IGKG Suena, said on Tuesday.
He did not say how much extra money was required.
"Although we are facing a budget deficit, we still aim to complete the project by the end of this year," he said.
City spokesman Muhayat said that the City Planning Agency was calculating the deficit and would use emergency funds to make it up.
According to him, Sutiyoso had asked City Parks Agency head Sarwo Handhayani to speed up the process, by prioritizing sections of the sidewalk in front of buildings whose owners were supportive.
"The governor said the parks agency should put aside all administrative work in order to finish the project, since it is related to public interests," he said.
Muhayat said the sidewalk in front of the Bank Indonesia (BI) complex would not be widened until state budget funds had been disbursed.
Only 37.5 percent of the project has been completed, with the sidewalk in front of the Japanese Embassy, Hotel Nikko, Plaza Indonesia and Plaza eX (PT Nusantara Plaza Realti) among sections that have not been widened.
Six other building owners are still negotiating with the administration, while 14 building owners have agreed to back the project.
The embassies of France, Germany and England, as well as the United Nations office, have objected to the plan, due to security concerns.
Once the sidewalk along Jl. Thamrin has been widened, the administration will focus on Jl. Sudirman.
"In the next three years, we also plan to widen the sidewalk along Jl. Rasuna Said," Suena said.
Most of the sidewalk will look the same, with brick-red concrete slabs bordered by basalt stonework.
Sidewalk widening along Jl. Thamrin
Locations/ Land taken for the project Financial Participation Company's names
Hotel Indonesia 6 meters city
Plaza Indonesia 6 meters city
Japanese embassy 8 meters private/city
PT Nusantara Plaza 8 meters private/city
Wisma Kosgoro 1 meter city
Oil Center 6 meters private/city
Plaza Permata 1.5 meter private/city
British Embassy none city
PT Mandarin Hotel 4.5 meters city
Nikko Hotel 8 meters private/city
German embassy none city
PT Panji Ratu JKT none city
PT Asia Troica 6 meters city
Chandra building 1 meter city
Surya building 0.6 meter city
UNDP building none city
Jaya building 7.10 meters city
Thamrin Tower 0.74 meter city
BPPT building 8.22 meters city
Ministry of 6 meters city Religious Affairs
Bank Indonesia between 2 and 9 meters state/city
BII Tower between 0.65 and 1.05 meters city
French embassy none city
PT Sarinah 1.66 meters city
Cakrawala Tower 1.25 meter city
Sari Pan Pacific 6 meters city
BDN 3.35 meters city
Bangkok Bank none city
Ministry of Energy 1.84 meter city and Natural Resources
Bank DKI 6 meters city
Former site of none city
Bank Rama
Source: City Parks Agency