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)