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The Jakarta administration should revise its grand plan of Sunda Kelapa revitalization project, as the current one is obsolete and not based on the real condition, and therefore, will be difficult to realize, an expert says.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