Jakarta Gets Kota Tua Repainted for Free, Plus Four Public Buses

Jakarta Globe, Deti Mega Purnamasari & Eko Prasetyo, May 26, 2016

The Jakarta administration has signed an agreement on Wednesday (25/05) with
 a Dutch multinational company for the repainting of Kota Tua in North Jakarta
and several other public buildings and structures in the city. (Antara Photo/Aprillio Akbar)

Jakarta. The Jakarta administration has signed an agreement on Wednesday (25/05) with a Dutch multinational company for the repainting of Kota Tua in North Jakarta and several other public buildings and structures in the city.

Jakarta regional secretary Saefullah signed the agreement with Jun de Dios, president director of AkzoNobel, the company that produces the Dulux brand of paints.

The painting process will be divided into two phases, with the first involving the Jakarta History Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics and the Kota Intan Bridge in Kota Tua. The three structures will be painted in a livelier color and 50 trash cans made from the empty paint cans will be placed around the historic area.

The second phase will involve repainting of the Maritime Museum in Sunda Kelapa, North Jakarta, and the Wayang Museum, also in Kota Tua. This phase will be expanded to other parts of the capital and it will include the repainting of bus shelters, pedestrian bridges, overpasses and underpasses in lively colors.

"We are happy to see the program proceed, as it will maintain the historical buildings, which are essential factors in preserving a cultural heritage," de Dios said after the signing.

The Jakarta administration has also received four double-decker buses from the company.

"I am the most expensive model in Jakarta. For wearing a Dulux shirt and a hat, I get paid four buses and Kota Tua's revitalization," Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, said jokingly during Wednesday's ceremony.

"You can have me wear these [clothing items] for a week, but then you must give me seven buses," he added.