Pramono Confirms General Sudirman Statue Will Not Be Relocated

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has confirmed that the General Sudirman statue in the Dukuh Atas area will not be relocated, despite the government preparing to build a pedestrian deck as part of the Dukuh Atas transit-oriented development (TOD). Pramono stated the decision was made after the government examined the detailed design of the project, which will connect various transport modes in the area. According to him, the statue, an icon of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, will remain an important part of the new Dukuh Atas area design. “The most important thing, after we pondered for days, is that the General Sudirman statue will stay in this place. So we will not shift it, so as not to cause polemic, and this place will become a better and more beautiful place,” Pramono said during the groundbreaking for the Dukuh Atas Pedestrian Deck in Central Jakarta on Sunday (21/6). He explained that the statue’s position will be almost in the centre of the pedestrian deck, so it does not need to be relocated. Based on the reviewed design, the statue’s presence will actually be more visible from various sides of the area. “Later, its place will be almost in the middle, so it doesn’t need to be moved. I have seen the detailed drawings, so it doesn’t need to be moved; in fact, it will become a place remembered by everyone. This statue will be very visible when people circle above,” he said. PT MRT Jakarta President Director Tuhiyat also confirmed the General Sudirman statue will remain in its current location. According to him, the pedestrian deck design even provides a special viewing platform so visitors can see the statue from above. “The Sudirman statue stays there. Inside the pedestrian deck, we will have a platform so that when passing above, people can directly see the Sudirman statue from the platform on the pedestrian deck,” Tuhiyat said. This confirmation is the latest development from a plan previously mentioned by Pramono some time ago, when he said the General Sudirman statue might be relocated due to the Dukuh Atas TOD development. At that time, Pramono said the relocation was not to remove the statue, but to make its position more prominent and easily visible to the public as a form of respect for General Sudirman. The relocation plan was also mentioned by Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi when explaining the development of the Dukuh Atas transport integration area. Dudy said there was a possibility the statue could be moved closer to Jalan MH Thamrin as part of the area’s arrangement. However, after the design was finalised, the Jakarta Provincial Government decided the statue will remain in its current location and become part of the pedestrian deck concept to be built. The Dukuh Atas Pedestrian Deck is one of the main projects in the Dukuh Atas TOD development. The circular infrastructure, often dubbed the ‘doughnut ring’, is targeted to begin construction today, Sunday (21/6), and be completed by 2028. The project will strengthen public transport integration in central Jakarta by connecting at least six transport modes: KRL Commuter Line, MRT Jakarta, LRT Jakarta, LRT Jabodebek, Airport Rail Link, and TransJakarta.