Tangerang mulls London-ization

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang

It has been ten years since the Tangerang administration first began discussing plans to transform the Cisadane river, which flows through the heart of town, to become more like the great Thames Gateway in London, but it has yet to materialize due to financial constraints.

In a bid to attract investors, the administration is again toying with the idea.

Syamsul Muarif, a researcher with the National Care Institution (LPB) who is involved in the plan, said on Friday that the river had the potential to be developed into a tourist destination.

The previous master plan made under the administration of mayor Zakaria Machmud called for the riverbanks to be dotted with nice hotels, restaurants, chic shops, office buildings, water transportation terminals and public parks.

The wide river, which bisects Tangerang city seems a natural choice for being the center of the town's activities.

The river also has the potential to be a 12-kilometer water transportation link between River Gate X in Pasar Baru subdistrict and Gading Serpong near the Jakarta-Merak toll road.

The area designated for business and public facilities will stretch from the Lim Sio Liong Bridge near the Robinson Plaza shopping mall to River Gate X, where visitors can enjoy a nice view of the river, explained Syamsul.

"But currently there are many illegal food stalls along the riverside, which is supposed to be a city park."

However, he still expressed optimism that the administration could make it a corridor stretching from the Lim Sio Liong Bridge, which is located right behind Tangerang Grand Mosque, to the border of the municipality and Tangerang regency in Gading Serpong.

Water transportation terminals would likely be built below the bridges of Lim Sio Liong, Unis, Cikokol, Kebon Nanas and Gading Serpong.

"But this plan will require a Rp 3 trillion (US$333 million) investment, which includes the cost to dredge the river," Syamsul added.