Sunda Kelapa plan criticized

Sunda Kelapa plan criticized

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Jakarta administration should revise its grand plan of Sunda
Kelapa revitalization project, as the current one is obsolete and
not based on the real condition, and therefore, will be difficult
to realize, an expert says.

Speaking at a seminar on the revitalization project of the
Sunda Kelapa harbor on Saturday, architect Djauhari Sumintardja
questioned whether the administration had asked what the
community wanted in making the plan.

"Kampong Luar Batang at present is a slum area, but in the
model it disappears," said Djauhari. "Is it to be removed?"

The restoration of Sunda Kelapa, which has passed four
historical periods from the Hindu (the Sunda kingdom), Muslim
(Fatahillah rule), the colonial and the independence, has been
planned since 1990 with gubernatorial decree No. 1072/1990.

A grand plan was drafted by the Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourism
Body and Dutch consultant DHV/Cuiper Compagnon in 1995. The 81.6-
hectare area will be divided into six parts, each with its own
landmark and architectural specifications.

Luar Batang, which was the first fishermen settlement in
Jakarta, for example, is planned to become the Bugis village, the
center of food and traditional maritime souvenirs.

"There's no more fisherman in Luar Batang and the area is
filled with sidewalk vendors and garbage," said Djauhari, who is
a member of the National Heritage Trust.

He asserted that any intention of change in an urban area
should be introduced with a proper campaign, lest residents would
feel threatened.

Djauhari also said that although the restoration plan has many
supporting laws and decrees, the implementation by the different
agencies varied.

Head of City Planning Agency Nurfakih Wirawan, another
panelist in the seminar, said that buildings in Chinatown, Kota,
should be kept to their original design.

Djauhari, however, showed pictures that old-style buildings
had to make way for modern ones.

"If you see the models, only certain buildings remain as
landmarks. I admire the consistency of the design, but who will
pay for that (such grandiose project)?" he said.

The city administration in May announced its plan to
revitalize the Sunda Kelapa port as the first step in a major
project to develop a 12-kilometer tourist corridor from Muara
Baru in North Jakarta to Glodok in West Jakarta, following
several years of standstill due to the monetary crisis.

The project includes improving infrastructure like pedestrian
bridges, sidewalks, and roads, as well as to clean up the rivers
and the sea at the harbor.

Private investors are expected to invest in tourist facilities
like restaurants, hotels, and souvenir centers.

Head of Sunda Kelapa Maritime Tourism Body Martono Yuwono,
however, remains adamant that the project should be prioritized.

Many other grand projects, like the urban revival of
Baltimore's Inner Harbor in the United States, the revitalization
of London Dockland and Albert Dock in Liverpool, both in the
United Kingdom, or Singapore's Clarke Quay, have managed to
attract economic activity, he said.

"We're working on something that will boost the city," said
Martono.

However, he declined to say how much funds from the 2005
budget would be allocated to stimulate the development of the
historic area. "Let's just say it's proportionate to the size of
the project."