Antique sellers might relocate to Kota Tua

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 04/11/2008 12:32 PM  |  City

Deputy Governor Prijanto said Thursday the city administration was considering Kota Tua, West Jakarta, as the new location for antique and suitcase vendors currently on Jl. Surabaya, Central Jakarta.

He said the area along Jl. Surabaya had been designed for green spaces.

The city hopes to expand its green areas from the current 9.6 percent to 13.94 percent of Jakarta's 63,744 hectares, by 2010.

"Hopefully, antiques can make Kota Tua charming and livelier," Prijanto said at City Hall.

Antique and suitcase kiosks along Jl. Surabaya is one of the capital's tourism icons. Many vendors have worked there for over three decades.

Nurmansjah Lubis, secretary of Commission B on Economic Affairs' at the City Council, disagrees with the relocation plan, saying "it's not urgent".

"Those vendors create no disturbances," he said. "It would be better for the administration to renovate the area."

City Parks Agency head Sarwo Handayani said the area would possibly be "cleared" as the kiosks were standing on riverbanks and occupying pedestrian sidewalks.

Sarwo said the agency was currently considering four relocation options, one being Cikini train station.

Coordinator of the Jl. Surabaya vendors, Mumu Hidayat, said vendors were confused about the plan.

"It is strange that the administration helped us renovate our kiosks and now wants us to move," he said.

Vendors just extended their licenses in March to continue using the area, he said.

The vendors received permits, which would expire within a year, from the Central Jakarta mayor through the Menteng district office.

There are 184 kiosks operating in the area, which generate approximately Rp 5 million a month in revenue, said Mumu.

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