Pasar Baru set to become new tourist spot

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)