Museum case gets mayor's attention

Museum case gets mayor's attention

JAKARTA (JP): North Jakarta Mayor Suprawito has promised to
pay closer attention to a development project which affects the
17th century Maritime Museum in Sunda Kelapa harbor.

The museum is housed in an old warehouse formerly used by the
Dutch East India Company (VOC).

The case involves a change in the status of the land
surrounding the museum.

According to the original plan, the land was to be used for
government offices. Instead a market has been built on the 1,264
square meters of land surrounding the Bahari Museum in North
Jakarta.

"The change of status of any land must be agreed upon by the
governor and the city council," Suprawito was reported by Antara
as saying.

The new construction has flanked the museum with private
stores.

Despite the official land use designation, the stores, which
have sprung-up since 1986, have building permits issued by the
city administration that are valid until 1999.

The permits were issued because the requests met all the
required conditions, including the approval of the Jakarta city
planning agency and the City Office for Land Affairs. (01)