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AKARTA: The observation deck of the National Monument (Monas) will be closed to visitors from Dec. 8 to Dec. 15 for maintenance and elevator upgrades, an official says.

“Beginning [Dec. 8], we will start replacing the main elevator pullies,” head of Monas management Rini Hariyani said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Rini said the maintenance work would greatly improve safety conditions for visitors to Monas.

Last year, Monas received 1.2 million visitors – more than the 900,000 targeted by Monas’ operator.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 visitors frequent the monument and surrounding park on weekdays. On weekends, between 3,000 and 4,000 people visit the area.

“We have not done any repairs to the elevators since 2004. This is important in order to prevent accidents,” she said. — JP