Rp 7b allocated for HI traffic circle renovation

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has allocated Rp 7 billion (US$736,842) to renovate the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on the busy Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta, an official said on Saturday.

The head of the City Parks Agency, Dadang Ruskandar, said his office was planning the renovations, including updating the landscaping and sprucing up the fountain.

"We will not change the Welcome statue as it is considered a city landmark. However, we have contacted the sculptor, Edhi Sunarso, to discuss the renovations," Dadang said after a ceremony marking the planting of 1,000 trees in the National Monument (Monas) park in Central Jakarta. The tree-planting program is being sponsored by the U.S.-based General Electric.

"There are five private companies that have submitted proposals to carry out the renovations," he said.

The official said the landscaping of the traffic circle and the statue were considered by many to be too outdated to represent the city.

A few years after Indonesia declared its independence, the government under then president Sukarno commissioned at least eight statues for the capital, including the Welcome statue, which was constructed to greet participants of the 1962 Asian Games at the Senayan Sports Stadium in Central Jakarta.

The 17-meter-high statue, which shows a couple holding their arms up in greeting and carrying a bouquet, stands on 2,000 square meters of land and now serves to welcome tourists. It is seen as a landmark in the capital.

"Besides the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, we will refurbish other parks in the capital, such as the spacious park at the Semanggi cloverleaf in Central Jakarta," Dadang said.

Located in a prime site in the capital, the Semanggi park is divided into four sections with a total size of 105,000 square meters.

"Under the scheme, the firms selected (for the maintenance projects) will be allowed to place their names on public advertisement boards in the respective parks in return for maintaining the parks. The scheme will be based on contracts of between two and five years," Dadang said.

As for the maintenance of the land around Monas, he said the rehabilitation of the park could expect to be finished by the end of this year.

The 82-hectare Monas park is the largest in the capital, and at least 10,000 trees have been planted in the park recently as part of the city's ongoing efforts to spruce up the area.

Jakarta used to be home to 529 parks covering an area of 177.29 square kilometers. That figure has been reduced to 220 parks, with more than 300 parks having been converted to other uses such as for gas stations, community centers and police posts.

"In an effort to increase public involvement in maintaining green areas in their neighborhoods, we are planning to publicize the best park in each subdistrict across the capital," Dadang said.

He said the funds collected from parties interested in participating in the project would be allocated for the planting of trees in the capital's slum areas.

"We will purchase at least 300 square meters of land in each of 70 selected slum areas across the capital to build parks which will serve as a gathering place in each area," he said.

He added that the agency has allocated Rp 14 billion to develop parks in the slum areas.

"The proposal is being examined by the City Development Planning Board," Dadang said.

The city administration has budgeted a total of Rp 9 billion on park development projects in the 2001 fiscal year, an increase from the Rp 4 billion budgeted last year.

"We have also allocated Rp 7 billion to finance a regreening and management plan for parks, to renovate pedestrian areas and to erect kiosks for street vendors," he added.

The ceremony in Monas on Saturday was attended by Governor Sutiyoso and City Council Speaker Edy Waluyo.

The president of GE Indonesia, Stuart L. Dean, said the program also would include a cleanup of Monas park and the installation of 27 benches, 10 information boards, 20 garbage cans and a mobile waste processing machine.

The program, costing $10,000, will be carried out by at least 300 GE Elfun volunteers. Last year, a similar program was sponsored by the Japanese-based Sony. (07)