Second stage of Kalibesar project to begin soon

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja is scheduled to launch the second stage of Kali Besar improvement program in the downtown Kota area, West Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Activities of the program include the planting of various tree species, such as palm and bougainvillea, and the installation of street lamps.

This program is part of the city administration's plan to return the sidewalks of the 300-meter Jl. Kali Besar Barat to their original function and restore the architecture of buildings in the area. The program is conducted jointly with Jakarta Professionals Group.

The Kali Besar area is one of the city's first established areas, filled with many old buildings built during the Dutch colonial era a hundred years ago. But now the area has turned into one of the dirtiest and busiest parts of the city.

Under the improvement program, the foregrounds of buildings, which have been closed down by their owners, will be turned into sidewalks.

"The improvement program is expected to revive the area and to enable people to walk along the street safely," Budi Lim, an architect of the Professional Group, said over the weekend.

There are three companies which have participated in the development of the area. Tamara Group, for example, is building Omni Hotel, which will start operation on Tuesday. Panghegar Group will open another hotel opposite Omni Hotel, while city- owned hotel company Wisata Niaga in cooperation with an Australian company will develops another.

Budi said there are also several foreign investors, including some from Singapore, that have expressed interest in investing in the area, especially in the tourism industry.

However, the rising number of investors poses another problem for the program's committee as they tend to neglect the main intention of the program by changing the architectural design or implementing a new concept which is completely different from the program launched by the city administration.

Budi cited Omni Hotel construction as an example. Its owner built a high-rise building and tore down two old houses in front of it.

Therefore, Budi urged the city administration to be consistent in implementing its policy so as to avoid any similar incidents.

"There should be a political will in which the city administration should be consistent in implementing the policy and regulation and not compromise easily with investors," Budi, who is also the architect of Kali Besar program, said.

"If the city planning agency was consistent and told the investors not to build high-rise buildings, this kind of thing would not happen," Budi said, reiterating that it is feared that any further deviations would destroy the whole program.

He also said people's appreciation toward old heritage also played a big role in the implementation of the program.

Budi denied an accusation that the program is a kind of romantic adventure which hampers city development. He insisted that the program is not a romantic adventure. It is merely another type of urban development program, he said.

"Basically, this is an urban development program with a revitalization method, which includes conservation as its theme," Budi said.

He added that the preservation of the oldest part of the city is expected to become one of the city's major tourist attractions.

"Hopefully, Kota will be the jewel of Jakarta," he said. (yns)