Vendors at Monas to be regulated, park agency says

JAKARTA (JP): Vendors at the National Monument Park (or Monas Park) will be regulated as part of the park's renovation.

The head of the city's park agency, Syamsir Alam, said yesterday a team consisting of personnel from various agencies, including public order and park agencies, had been set up to make the operation of vendors more orderly and sanitary.

"It has to be done as soon as possible, or else the park's condition will become worse," Syamsir said, referring to waste left by vendors and customers in the park.

The maintenance cost for the park was Rp 225 million (US$92,213) a year, which he said was "very cheap" for the park's 80 hectares.

People going to the park need vendors, he said, but the park, which is undergoing renovation, should be prevented from misuse, he added.

Syamsir was speaking after the signing of detail plans of the renovated park, to be named Taman Medan Merdeka, by Governor Surjadi Soedirdja.

It was a follow up to President Soeharto's approval of the concept in 1993 and the master plan drawn up in 1994.

Construction has begun through the paving of outer areas of the square and the planting of trees. The "frame" of the park is scheduled to be completed in 1998.

M. Danisworo, the head of the city's architectural consultant team, said yesterday vendors, who will be organized, will occupy the underground part of a plaza in the daytime, and will operate on the surface at night.

The plaza, part of an overall plan to be completed in 10 years, would be an open-air space 200 meters long and 30 meters wide shaded by trees.

The plaza will be placed along Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan across from City Hall, and vendors will be organized into several groups, Danisworo said.

"If they're not organized they will pollute the place," he said.

Near the plaza, a 5,000-seat amphitheater would face the National Monument, which was built in 1961, for various forms of entertainment.

An underground parking lot would accommodate 2,300 cars, he said. Parking would no longer be allowed on the surface.

Further progress of the plans would partially depend on subway plans, Danisworo said. Subway plans have been delayed indefinitely pending financial proposals which would not burden the city.

"Without the subway, underground passages (linking the subway station, the Gambir Train Station and the park) would not really serve any purpose," he said. Limited commercial facilities have been planned for the underground passages.

But regardless of when the subway was built, he said, at least people would still be attracted to the amphitheater.

The most important thing about the park, he said, was that it remain a public place.

The park would include tree species from the country's 27 provinces, he said. He also said that the park would serve as a medium for learning about the environment and history, as well as learning "attitudes of living in an urban area" by enforcing park cleanliness.

Costs of the project had increased, but Danisworo could not give details. (anr)