Pasar Baru set to become new tourist spot

JAKARTA (JP): The Pasar Baru shopping complex, one of the city's oldest markets, is currently being revitalized to become the city's premier shopping location designed especially for tourists.

Dedi Soetardi from the planning division of the city's tourism agency said the renovated shopping center would be unveiled on Oct. 6 in a ceremony led by Governor Sutiyoso.

The current refurbishment, the initial stage of an estimated Rp 15 billion revitalization project, is focusing on parking lots and pedestrian paths along Jl. Pasar Baru and Jl. Antara.

The 575-meter Jl. Pasar Baru -- home to 120 shops offering a variety of merchandise and services -- will be decorated with lamps, flower pots and canopies.

"We'll also put the parking lots and sidewalk vendors in order. Shop owners will be urged to park at nearby buildings which offer parking spaces, while visitors will be encouraged to park their cars in parking spaces available on the street to make it easier for them to reach the shops.

"The sidewalk vendors will be moved to the pedestrian walk near the Ciliwung River (located near the entrance gate to the shopping complex). We'll provide more comfortable space there," Dedi said.

The administration is also discussing with shop owners a plan to paint the buildings, particularly those built in the early 19th century, with Chinese designs of the same white color, Dedi said.

He said the city administration chose to make Pasar Baru the capital's main tourist shopping center due to its unique qualities.

Besides being one of the oldest shopping complexes in Jakarta, it boasts multiethnic shop owners of Indian, Pakistani, Arabian and Chinese descent.

"The buildings also reflect a mixture of traditional and modern architecture. The area is also close to other tourist spots, like Gedung Kesenian Jakarta theater and the National Monument (Monas). So it can be an integrated tourism project," he said.

He also said the agency would train Pasar Baru shop owners in various aspects of tourism.

The agency said shopping tourism was targeted as one of the major selling points of the city's tourism industry, along with marine tourism.

Foreign tourists spent 22.88 percent, or US$557 million, of their budget on shopping, food and beverages, while local tourists spent 32.05 percent of their budget, or more than Rp 2.6 trillion, on shopping and food, according to a 1997 survey.

"These figures are considered to have potential for further development," he said.

The head of the city planning agency, Ahmaddin Ahmad, said Pasar Baru was built in the early 19th century by the Dutch colonial government.

It was designed to serve as the central shopping center for the Dutch, he said.

Ahmaddin said the popularity of Pasar Baru waned due to numerous factors, including the construction of new shopping centers and malls in the capital and the poor facilities in the area.

"The weaknesses include the narrow entrance road, limited parking spaces and pedestrian walks which are packed with vendors and are prone to pickpockets," he said.

Ahmaddin did not mention the numerous street brawls involving scores of students in front of the shopping complex.

The tourism agency has divided the tourism industry into eight categories, including shopping and marine tourism.

Other tourist attractions in the capital include numerous historical sites; East Jakarta's Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, which presents the cultures of the country's 27 provinces; Taman Ismail Marzuki art center in Central Jakarta; the Wayang Orang Barata show in Central Jakarta; Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta; and Cibubur park in East Jakarta. (ind)