Rp 300m donated to speed up troubled statue project
Rp 300m donated to speed up troubled statue project
BANDUNG (JP): Two cabinet ministers and a businessman donated
yesterday Rp 300 million (US$88,571) in fresh aid to speed up the
construction of a 140-meter monument whose total worth is Rp 200
billion.
The donations for the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue were made
following an incident in which the 12-meter-tall head of the God
Wisnu caught fire at the studio of its architect, Nyoman Nuarta,
here on Oct. 14. The statue was supposed to be shipped in
segments to Bali, where the project is located.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave gave
Rp 100 million collected from various sources, and Minister of
Mines and Energy Ida Bagus Sudjana donated another Rp 100
million. Another Rp 100 million was given by Bunyanto, the owner
PT Sumber Megah Indah, while state-owned PT Krakatau Steel
company donated Rp 10 million.
"I have reported the fire to President Soeharto, who said he
was concerned and wanted the project to continue," said Joop Ave.
Sudjana, who is the chief patron for the project, said the
current monetary crisis should not affect the project, as it was
a national tourism project of "international caliber".
He added, however, the fire might cause a six month delay in
the project's completion, scheduled for 2000. "That incident has
caused a time and financial loss," he said.
The estimated financial loss was Rp 400 million.
The Garuda Wisnu Kencana monument, being built on a 174-
hectare plot on top of Ungasan Lime hill, 12 kilometers south of
Denpasar, Bali, has been dubbed as the future "landmark of
Indonesian tourism".
Nuarta has promised the monument would be this century's
greatest and that it would be on par with world wonders like
Borobudur Temple, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Statue of
Liberty.
When the idea was made public in the early 1990s, the project
met strong opposition from many Balinese. Local intellectuals and
entrepreneurs voiced concern over the impact it would have on
local culture and small-scale craftsmen.
Amazed by the huge cost, critics have said the monument was a
misplaced priority in the government's development program. After
the debate died down, the government and Nuarta went ahead with
the plan.
I Gede Putu Ary Suta, the chairman of the Capital Market
Supervisory Agency, said fresh funds could be raised from the
stock market. (43/swe)