Jakarta to Speed Up Kota Tua Revitalization for 2018 Asian Games

Jakarta Globe, Lenny Tristia Tambun, Oct 08, 2014

Visitors at Fatahillah square, the heart of the old town known locally known
as Kota Tua. (AFP photo/ Romeo Gacad)

Jakarta.  Revitalization of Jakarta’s historic town center Kota Tua will be fast tracked in order to be ready for the 2018 Asian Games, the company charged with organizing the renovation said on Wednesday.

Lin Che Wei, the CEO of Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation, a consortium handling the revitalization, said the company had obtained consent from some building owners and had already started working on the project.

“The revitalization of Kota Tua has started. We are optimistic it will be completed within a relatively short time so that when we host the 2018 Asian Games, Kota Tua is a selling point for the tourism sector,” Lin said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Indonesia was approved to host the Asian Games (Asiad) last month after Vietnam said in April that it could no longer afford to stage them.

Already Lin said he had requested that the Jakarta City Council (DPRD) help regulate street vendors in the area.

“Hawkers will still be allowed, but only those who are registered,” Lin said, “this needs to be done so they won’t get bigger in numbers and are still orderly.”

Kota Tua, once revered as the “Queen of the East”, is now a crumbling relic and many of its heritage buildings are in a critical state of disrepair.

The DPRD has pushed for revitalization of the area in the hope it will become a tourist attraction, and this year it gave property owners a two-year deadline to restore buildings or face severe sanctions.

Of the 134 colonial-era buildings in Kota Tua, only five of them — including the Jakarta History Museum — are owned by the Jakarta Government.

Sarwo Handayani, Jakarta’s deputy for spatial planning and environmental protection, said acting governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama had contacted owners, including a number of state-owned enterprises.

Head of Jakarta Tourism Agency Arief Budhiman said the revitalization would not change the authentic design of the buildings. Restoration would adjust the function of the buildings by adding more facilities, such as parking lots and parks, he said.

“The design will stay the same because those buildings are the city’s heritage,” Arief said.

Other prominent buildings such as Gedung Cipta and Kerta Niaga would be renovated in 2015.

“These historical buildings will be returned to their original facade, however, there will many new activities inside. One of them is aimed to facilitate the hawkers,” Arie said.