Second stage of Kalibesar project to begin soon

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)